Elderly Man Brutally Beaten on Suspicion of Child Theft
Sakhigopal | 24.03.2024 (Saswat TV):
A shocking incident occurred last Saturday in the Satyabadi area, where an elderly man was brutally assaulted by a mob on the mere suspicion of being a child thief. The attack has stirred unrest in the local community. The injured man was rescued and admitted to the Sakhigopal Community Health Center for medical treatment.
Satyabadi police station IIC Umesh Chandra Sahu has taken the incident seriously and conducted a detailed investigation.
According to reports, Kailash Chandra Das from Charipolia village in Jagatsinghpur district was on his way to his in-law’s house in Suanlo village, under Satyabadi block. From Sakhigopal, a biker offered him a ride but instead of taking him to Suanlo, he dropped him off near Dhol Biranchi Daspur. There, some locals, suspecting him to be a child thief, began assaulting him.
Upon receiving the information, Ramesh Chandra Behera and others from Suanlo village, who are relatives of the elderly man, rescued him from Gabakunda and admitted him to the Sakhigopal hospital in critical condition.
A case has been registered at Satyabadi police station under case number 97/24. While the police are investigating all angles, they have arrested Santosh Kumar Sahu from Parajapada in connection with the incident.
Authorities have confirmed that the child theft suspicion was completely baseless. The police have been consistently appealing to the public to call the police station or dial 112 if they see any suspicious person, rather than taking the law into their own hands. Assaulting anyone mentally or physically based on rumors is illegal, and strict action will be taken against such individuals, said IIC Umesh Chandra Sahu.
