Security guard with son’s schoolbag attacked on suspicion of being child-lifter, 16 held

Over the past fortnight, similar incidents of innocent men and women being targeted on suspicions of being child kidnappers have been reported from Akash Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Tronica City and Loni areas of Ghaziabad.

The Ghaziabad police Monday booked 16 persons for attempt to murder after they allegedly beat up a 50-year-old security guard over suspicion of him being a child-lifter. The police said the man was carrying his son’s schoolbag bearing the logo ‘Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan’ when the suspects started beating him up.

The police said they booked the 16 suspects under IPC sections for rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation and attempt to murder. (Reuters File Photo)

The incident took place around 1pm at Prem Vihar in Khoda when victim Anuranjan Singh was returning from his duty and had gone to a bank in Indirapuram to deposit some money. While returning, a mob of about 20-25 persons, standing near a paan shop in Prem Vihar, spotted Singh with the bag.

“Believing that Singh was a child-lifter, they stated thrashing him with sticks and also kicked him. In the meantime, the police were informed and our response vehicles reached the spot and rescued Anuranjan Singh. He was taken for medical treatment,” Sandeep Kumar Singh, station house officer, Khoda police station, said.

“When we opened the schoolbag, we found that it contained four chapatis and some vegetable curry, besides his security guard uniform. Anuranjan Singh had taken a leave for the day and was returning home early. He was carrying his belongings in the schoolbag that belonged to his son, a student of class 7. Based on the information given by Singh, we registered an FIR and arrested 16 persons,” SHO Singh added.

Anuranjan Singh is a resident of Prem Vihar in Khoda and works as a security guard in a mall in Kaushambi.

Over the past fortnight, similar incidents of innocent men and women being targeted on suspicions of being child kidnappers have been reported from Akash Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Tronica City and Loni areas of Ghaziabad.

UP director general of police OP Singh had recently appealed to public not to take law into their hands and also not to heed fake messages being shared on social media about the child-lifter gangs. He had also asked officers to levy provisions of the National Security Act against those resorting to mob violence.