22 July,2025 09:38 PM IST | New Delhi | Shirish Vaktania
Police have registered a case of kidnapping and are further investigating the matter, officials said. Pic/Hanif Patel
A mob thrashed four persons on Tuesday while accusing them of attempting to kidnap children in an auto rickshaw in Palghar district of Maharashtra, police said.
The Vasai police have arrested four suspects who allegedly posed as eunuchs and attempted to kidnap two girls, aged 13 and 14, in Naigaon near Vasai Road.
According to the police, the accused arrived in an auto-rickshaw and tried to abduct the girls, threatening them with a knife as the victims were returning home from school on their bicycles.
All the accused are residents of Thane, and the police have also seized the auto-rickshaw used in the incident.
Local residents, along with the victims' parents, caught the accused and beat them before handing them over to the Vasai police.
According to police officials, the incident occurred around 1 pm on Tuesday when the two girls were cycling back home.
While they were returning, three individuals posing as eunuchs stopped them. One of the accused brandished a knife and threatened the girls, asking them to get into the auto-rickshaw. The accused also told the girls that they were now in their custody.
A police officer said, "The victims managed to escape from the spot and informed their parents."
Speaking to mid-day, one of the victims' fathers said, "My daughter came home crying and told me about the incident. We rushed to the spot and caught one of the fake eunuchs. Later, we caught three more individuals from the area. These same people had been roaming around for the past few days, trying to kidnap my daughter."
"We beat them and handed them over to the police. They are not eunuchs and are residents of Thane," the victim's father added.
Police Inspector Bala Ghadigaonkar of Vasai police station said, "We have arrested four people in this case. All are in custody. They are not eunuchs. Further investigations are underway."
