Three persons were attackedwith sticks and stones in Gujarat's Panchmahal district by villagers on suspicion that they were thieves, police said on Monday.However, unlike the Palghar mob lynching incident in neighbouring Maharashtra wherein three persons were beaten to death last week, the trio in Gujarat survived the attack as the villagers allowed them to go.While the accused are yet to be nabbed, Godhra Taluka police have arrested the injured victims for violating the coronavirus lockdown norms, an official said.The incident occurred on Sunday night when a mob stopped a pick-up truck near Bhamaiya village in Godhra taluka of Panchmahal district, and attacked its occupants Bharatsinh Vakhala, Vikram Bariya and Lalabhai Salat on suspicion that they were thieves."When the trio, who hailed from Dahod district, reached near Bhamaiya village in their pick up truck on Sunday night, villagers mistook them as thieves and attacked them," said police inspector Sanjay Gameti.In the FIR lodged with Godhra taluka police on Monday morning, Vakhala said he was a farmer and was headed to Sevalia village in Kheda district with two others to buy dry grass for cattle."Some villagers stopped our vehicle and accused us of being thieves. Despite our pleading that we are not thieves, they thrashed us with sticks and stones. They damaged our pick-up truck also," stated the FIR.The trio sustained injuries on their heads.However, they were lucky to be alive as the villagers allowed them to go.Gameti said the accused are yet to be arrested.However, the three victims were arrested for violating the lockdown norms and booked under section 188 (Defying order promulgated by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), he added.
