Bhubaneswar: Police warning against mob assaulting people on the suspicion of child lifters have apparently failed to prevent such violence with a similar case being reported from Kandhamal on Thursday.

The police on May 29 issued an advisory, warning people of stringent action for assaulting others over suspected child lifting.

The recent incident took place at Sarangada under Baliguda tehsil in Kandhamal district.

According to reports, local people spotted three men wandering suspiciously in the area and later asked their whereabouts. When they failed to give proper answers to the queries, the villagers thrashed them on the suspicion of being child lifters. Later, the police rushed to the spot and rescued them. The police are interrogating the victims to get their details.

Though nobody has been lynched in the state so far, the police have rescued more than 100 people, including the mentally challenged ones who have been assaulted on the suspicion of being child lifters. People not having knowledge of Odia language have become the soft targets of mob in such cases.

The state witnessed a spurt in similar incidents after several videos of child lifters taking out body organs such as kidneys and eyes of children started circulating on social media.

Director-general of police R.P. Sharma had said that no cases of child theft were registered with the police in the state and advised people not to believe the rumours.

The police advisory had also warned people of being booked for sharing such rumours on social media. Sharma had also asked the concerned police superintendents to keep tabs on such incidents and initiate stringent action against the mob assaulting innocent people on suspicion. The police also arrested several people for assaulting people.