In a shocking incident, two men were lynched by a mob in Assam's Karbi Anglong district on suspicion of being child lifters, said the police.
The event took place on Friday night after a rumour on social media that a group of 'sopadhara' (child abductor or lifter) were on the prowl in Nagaland's Dimapur town and some other areas of the district.
Nilotpal Das (29), who was an engineer based in Mumbai and his friend Abhijeet Nath (30), who was a businessman had gone for a picnic in Karbi Anglong last night to capture the sounds of nature, Police said.
When they were returning, the duo was stopped by some villagers at Panjuri and pulled out of the car and beaten to death on the suspicion of being child lifters.
The mob refused to believe the victims, that they were Assamese and had come to Karbi Anglong only to witness the scenic beauty of the place.
A video was also released on social media which showed that the boys were pleading for their lives, but the mob refused to believe them.
As the police reached the spot, the seriously injured duo was rushed to a hospital but died on the way.
The police have launched a search operation to nab the culprits based on the video.
The district administration authorities are camping in the area and holding talks with the villagers.
Meanwhile, Debabrata Saikia, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly condemned the lynching and called it yet another instance of the government's "utter failure" to maintain law and order.
Saikia also demanded a judicial enquiry into the incident.
(with PTI inputs)
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