Dhule, July 2: Families of five men who were allegedly lynched by a mob on Sunday, refused to accept their bodies, seeking justice and compensation from the government. The five men, belonging to a nomadic community were lynched at the tribal hamlet of Rainpada, about 25 kms from Pimpalner in Dhule district on suspicion that they were members of a gang of "child-lifters".

According to the police, rumours that a gang of child-lifters was active in the area were doing the rounds on social media. So far, the police have arrested 23 people in connection with the incident. As per Police reports, all the deceased hailed from Solapur and belonged to a nomadic community. They had come in search of livelihood due to a drought-like situation in their district, police said. The shattered families of the victims on Monday also staged a sit-in protest in Dhule demanding police action against the culprits.

Reports inform that members of the Nath Gosavi community staged a noisy protest outside the Satara district collectorate office and asked the authorities to take a strict action against the culprits for killing five innocent men.

Terming the incident as "very painful and cruel", Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased. The Chief Minister said he has also instructed the police to take action against the people who are spreading such rumours.

"It is a very painful incident. The way five people were killed merely on the basis of suspicion is unfortunate and cruel. The police have acted swiftly in this case and the people (involved in the incident) are being arrested. We are going to give compensation of Rs 5 lakh to (each of) the kin of the deceased on behalf of the state government," Fadnavis said. “It is wrong for the people to take law and order in their hands in any situation. And therefore, strict action will be taken in this case," the chief minister added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2018 08:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).