Police said teams were visiting villages to prevent rumour-mongering (Representational)

An unidentified man was allegedly beaten to death by a mob on suspicion of being a child-lifter in Chhattisgarh's Sarguja district on Friday. The incident took place at Mendrakla village, police said.The man, around 40 years old, arrived in the village this morning, but when people asked him who he was and where he was coming from, he could give no answers, said a police official.As rumours about a gang of child-lifters were swirling around in the area, the villagers thought the man was a part of some such gang and beat him to death with sticks, he said.Around ten people from the village were arrested by the police and a further probe was on.

The official said the police was visiting villages in the area and asking people not to believe the rumours. One such meeting had been held at Mendrakla village too, he said.Recently, two men in Assam were killed by a mob on suspicion of being child-lifters.