Mumbai, July 2:  In yet another incident of mob violence, the Maharashtra police have arrested as many as 23 people from Rayeenpada village in connection with the lynching of five people in Maharashtra's Dhule district. Maharashtra DGP Datta Padsalgikar appealed to people not to believe in WhatsApp rumours and said if any such incident comes to light, they must inform the police first.

"I would like to appeal to all that if a similar incident comes to anyone's notice they must inform the police. Kindly do not believe in rumours circulating on social media and WhatsApp. We will take strict action", Padsalgikar said on Dhule lynching incident.

The families of the deceased who were lynched in Dhule on suspicion of being child-lifters have demanded justice from the government. One of the victims' kin says, "We want help from the government. My family has been shattered after the incident."

In wake of the brutal incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced Rs 5 lakh as compensation to victims' families. "The incident is unfortunate. We have already begun an investigation into the matter. Few accused have also been arrested", Fadnavis said.

Rumours that a gang of child lifters was active in the area were doing the rounds for a few days in Dhule, police informed.  On Sunday, Police informed that five men were lynched on the suspicion of being child-lifters in Dhule's Rainpada village. As per reports, the victims belonged to a nomadic community called Nath Gosavi.

According to a PTI report, the five men, along with a few others, were seen getting down from a state transport bus in the tribal Rainpada hamlet, police said. The five men were beaten to death after videos of child lifters were actively circulated on a WhatsApp group, police said.

Rumours on social media have claimed several lives across India in the past few months, the latest incident being the Dhule one on Sunday where a mob killed five men after suspecting that they were child lifters.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2018 05:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).