Chennai, May 11: In a shocking incident from Tamil Nadi, a 65-year-old Chennai woman was lynched, after villagers mistook her for a child trafficker. According to a report on the NewsMinute, the deceased, identified as Rukmani, and her relatives were driving around Athirmoor village near Polur, Thiruvannamalai, in search of a family temple when the lynching took place.

A mob of more than 200 people mistook them for child traffickers and started attacking them mercilessly. They killed Rukmani on the spot and the other four, in the car were seriously injured in the attack. According to the report, the victim had stopped near an old lady's house to ask for directions to the temple. They gave chocolates to two children playing near the road, while they were enquiring about the route to the temple. This created suspicion in the mind of the old lady, who alerted the other villagers, who immediately gathered. In fact, WhatsApp videos of child trafficking had created this fear among the villagers, and they thought Rukmini and her gang had come for this purpose only.

Since there were so many people at the spot, police couldn't do anything even after they arrived. Despite the 65-year-old lady dying on the spot, the irate mob didn't care, they stripped the others and continued to assault them. Even the car they travelled in toppled over in the attack. Some people took videos of the incident, and it got being widely circulated on social media. Reportedly, police have remanded 23 people for this incident.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 11, 2018 01:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).