One held in connection with attack on 2 migrant labourers

A man has been arrested for allegedly attacking two migrant labourers here, a senior police official said, warning that strict action would be taken against those spreading rumours about child-lifting gangs on social media.

The two labourers were thrashed by residents of Teynampet yesterday on suspicion that they were trying to abduct a child.

A man, identified as Murugan, has been arrested while the police is on look out for others, Deputy Commissioner of Police (T Nagar) P Aravindan said.

Aravindan said the condition of the two labourers, who were rescued by police and admitted to a government hospital, was stable.

Explaining the sequence of events that led to the attack, Aravindan said the two labourers were residents in the locality earlier, but had vacated the place.

He said the two labourers saw a child, whom they knew, dropping money by mistake and they handed it over. They were also talking to the child when Murugan became suspicious and raised an alarm, calling them "child-lifters".

The wrong information spread and the locals started attacking them, the officer said.

"If anyone is found to be suspicious, public should alert the police instead of attacking them," Aravindan said.

He appealed to the public not to circulate messages on social media platforms without proper verification.

Strict action would be taken against those spreading rumours, he said but did not elaborate.

The officer said awareness campaigns involving residential and traders associations on ways to handle such situations have been held in parts of the city.

The attack on the labourers came on a day when five people were lynched by a mob in Maharashtra's Dhule district over suspicion that they were part of a gang of "child lifters."