Chhindwara, Aug 07: Three youths were paraded with bundles of barbed wire around their necks as locals kicked, punched and beat them with slippers over suspicion of theft in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district, police said on Friday.
A video of the assault has gone viral on social media. It shows a group of people, including security guards of the state-run Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), targeting the men, police said.
Police said the group suspected that the three men had stolen cables at the WCL premises in Iklehra, about 30 km from the district headquarters, within the jurisdiction of the Parasia police station.
Police inspector Khemchand Patel said the cable theft incident took place at the closed filter plant premises in the Iklehra township of the Pench area.
Following this, local residents reviewed CCTV footage from the area. Three suspects were apparently identified from the footage and called for questioning, the official said.
The trio was beaten with slippers, kicked and punched by locals while being paraded through the area with bundles of cables, allegedly cut for theft, hanging around their necks and shoulders. The allegation is being investigated, the official said.
Patel said that it is the police’s job to take legal measures. “Action will also be taken against those who assaulted the youths. The matter is being thoroughly investigated,” he said.
WCL’s Iklehra Township Manager Vikram Malvi said that iron cables were being repeatedly stolen from the premises, and the police administration had previously been informed about it.
