Villagers lynch 4 'child-lifters'

KORAPUT: At least four people were lynched and another severely assaulted by tribal villagers in Koraput district on Wednesday night on suspicion of being child traffickers.
The irate villagers also set ablaze two SUVs and a motorcycle at three separate spots on the road between Balia and Nuaput villages.
Police found the bodies on Thursday morning on the Balia bridge between Jeypore and Boipariguda.Altogether 45 villagers from three nearby villages have been detained for interrogation in this connecntion.
Bhagaban Nayak, who survived the attack by the villagers, is a resident of Jeypore. He was admitted to Jeypore hospital.
During interrogation, he told police that the four had come to the village in search of ganja. He was paid to show them the way to Palkaput, where the contraband was stored in a car.
Going by preliminary reports, the deceased, aged between 30 and 35, were residents of Madhya Pradesh. They were involved in ganja smuggling.
"Over one quintal ganja was seized near Palkaput village, where an SUV was set on fire by the villagers. It is suspected that the group was involved in ganja smuggling. The driving licenses found from the vehicle were issued in Madhya Pradesh. We are verifying them," said Koraput SP Charan Singh Meena.
According to sources, a motorcycle and a four-wheeler entered Nuaput village under Jeypore sadar police limits around 11 pm on Wednesday.
"Villagers had heard about a group of child-lifters being active in the area. They waylaid the biker who was leading the SUV, and asked him why they had come to the village at such an odd hour. Spotting the biker surrounded by villagers, the four persons in the SUV fled abandoning the vehicle," a middle-aged woman from Nuaput told TOI.
"As they started running towards Balia bridge, about 3 km from Nuaput, locals called up villagers in Balia and informed them about the group. People from Balia assembled on the bridge and intercepted the four," she added.
Police said a number of big stones were found near the bodies, suggesting the four could have been crushed to death.
"Nayak has told us during interrogation that they had mistakenly entered Nuaput village as it was dark," the SP said, adding, "investigation is on and more details are awaited."
TOI on Thursday could not find a single male member of any family in Nuaput village. While police had detained some for interrogation, others had fled the village.