After rumours of child abductors being on the prowl in Pune go viral, mob takes law into its hands for a humane like the wolrld child abduction racket
CCTV footage shows locals thrashing Pune resident Hasina Shaikh at Dehu railway station, suspecting her to be part of a child abduction racket
Pune: Two women and a 15-year-old girl were mercilessly beaten in separate incidents in the last two days at Dehu Road railway station, Pune, on the suspicion that they were part of a child abduction racket. The attacks were allegedly triggered by rumours of child abductors doing the rounds of the district.
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On Tuesday evening, visually challenged traveller Rekha Jadhav (20) was waiting for a train to Akurdi at the station with her three-month-old son, her mother, Gajarabai Pawar (60), and her 15-year-old niece. At 6.22 pm, a train pulled in, but only Pawar managed to get in. An agitated Pawar raised an alarm, and erroneously claimed that her son had been abducted. The train was immediately halted and passengers de-boarded to look for the child.
In the meantime, a scared Jadhav began calling out for help and her son, too, started wailing.
Mob mentality
Passengers spotted Jadhav and the bawling child, suspected that she, along with the 15-year-old girl, had kidnapped him and thrashed the two. Jadhav pleaded for mercy and told them repeatedly that the baby was her own, but the raging mob paid no heed.
Hirala Vasant Ballal, an officer with the Pune railway police, said Jadhav was rescued and locked up in a room at the station to keep her away from the mob. Even after Pawar testified that Jadhav was her daughter, the police demanded that she furnish documents to prove that the boy was indeed theirs. Jadhav said she and her niece were brutally beaten up. They were both taken to a hospital but neither sustained any grave injury.
Attack redux
A similar attack unfolded the next afternoon at the station. Hasina Shaikh (35), a resident of Bhosari, Pune, who had gone door-to-door offering massages to women and children for a fee, sat down at the station to rest around 2 pm when a group of locals allegedly accosted her and began abusing her. “They claimed I was running a kidnapping racket. I tried to reason with them but they refused to listen. Some women then pounced on me and thrashed me,” she said.
After beating her up for some time, the mob dragged her to the police station.
Jyoti Patil, assistant inspector of Dehu Road police station, said Shaikh was taken a hospital for treatment and then took her to Bhosari police station to verify her credentials. “We called up her husband as well as made enquiries with her neighbours.”
Arun More, inspector of Dehu Road police station, said Shaikh refused to file a complaint against her assaulters. “For the past few days, rumours of child abductors prowling in the district have been doing the rounds on social media. We have stepped up security at railway junctions to prevent future attacks.”
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