Kalu Ram was beaten up after people mistook him for a child-lifter

BENGALURU: Police probing the lynching of a 25-year-old man mistaken for a child-lifter in Chamarajpet recently, have registered suo motu complaints at three police stations to identify the miscreants. They were responsible for circulating a video message about child abductors on the prowl that went viral on social media and spread panic in several parts of the state, including Bengaluru.

A special team led by DCP (west) Ravi D Channananavar has been set up to investigate the case along with cybercrime police.

Police commissioner T Suneel Kumar said all the 20 accused have been arrested. “They include two minors and four women. While the minors have been handed over to a remand home, others have been sent to judicial custody. We will file a chargesheet soon with concrete evidence against them and are confident of securing their conviction.” he added.

Channananavar said they have so far verified 75 WhatsApp accounts but haven’t been able to zero in on the miscreant who initially sent the video message.

What happened?

May 23, 1.30pm: Kalu Ram from Rajasthan, tile worker with a construction company, was walking near Pension Mohalla, Chamarajpet, where he was living for a couple of months. Suddenly, locals attacked him, suspecting him to be a child-lifter. CCTV footage showed the crowd tying him up and mercilessly beating him with a cricket bat, wooden logs and other objects. He succumbed to injuries in a hospital.

