Mob thrashes ‘kidnapper’ in Ahmedabad, attacks cops on duty

An alleged attempt to kidnap a nine-year-old boy proved painfully costly for Balwant Thakor who was beaten by a mob for his involvement in the alleged crime. The incident took place near Shahpur Darwaza on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident, however, took an uglier turn when a 1,000-strong mob attacked Shahpur police with stones because cops wanted legal course of action in the matter. The mobsters, on the other hand, wanted to mete out 'justice' to Thakor in their own capacity.

The boy, Rakesh Thakor (name changed), lives in Chunara Vaas, Shahpur Darwaza. His father, Manish Rajput sells farsan by a roadside stall near Shahpur Chakla.

After school on Wednesday, Rakesh's mother gave him a DVD and asked him to give it to his father at his workplace. On his way to Shahpur Chakla, Rakesh was allegedly apprehended by Thakor in an attempt to kidnap him. The boy managed to free himself and ran to his father and told the entire story. An enraged Rajput went to the spot and found Thakor in an inebriated state near Nasiri Hotel. He beat the man up for attempting to kidnap his son. Many others joined in and finally handed him to Shahpur police.

The news of the 'kidnapping' spread fast and several hundreds gathered outside Shahpur police station, demanding that police hand Thakor over to them. The cops allegedly pushed some women among the mob which initiated stone-pelting on the station house.

Zone 2 DCP HG Patel said the mob demanded release of locals who were arrested for stone-pelting. "When we refused, a mass hysteria ensued among the mob," said Patel.