Dhule, July 8: The main accused of Dhule lynching incident has been arrested on Sunday by Local crime branch (LCB) squad. To recall, five people were lynched to death on suspicion of child theft in Rainpada village of Dhule district on July 1.

Videos of the incident that went viral on social media reveal that one of the five victims apparently trying to speak to a six-year-old girl after which they were pounced upon, stoned and thrashed with sticks and chappals. So far 23 people have been arrested in connection with the lynching of five people in Dhule district.

According to a senior official of the Maharashtra Police, the nomadic Nath Gosavi community, whose five members were lynched here on suspicion of child-lifting, is a peaceful tribe with no criminal record. The community members generally travel from place to place in search of work and food and make ends meet by begging and performing acrobatics.

Reports inform that the five nomadic tribals were lynched by a mob in Rainpada village which is about 100 km from the Dhule district headquarters. The deadly incident took place after rumours on social media that a gang of child-lifters was active in the area.

According to a report by PTI, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said it was "very sad" that five people lost their lives in Dhule district only because of rumours.  "People should not believe in rumours, we will take strict action against those who are behind them.The Dhule lynching case will be sent to a fast-track court," Fadnavis said.

The Chief Minister sought stronger measures by social media platforms to check their spread and said that modern means of communication are for sharing information and knowledge and should be used judiciously.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 08, 2018 07:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).