Elderly man beaten to death on suspicion of being child lifter

A 70-year-old man was beaten to death by a group of people on the suspicion that he was a child lifter at Pinhai Railway Station in Chitrakoot district, the police said on Friday.

The deceased, who was wearing saffron robes, was mistaken for a child lifter by the people on the railway station on Wednesday and severely beaten up, Station House Officer, Manikpur, K.K Misra said.

The police rushed to the spot after being informed by the station master and shifted him to the community health centre from where he was referred to the district hospital, Misra said.

In his statement to the police before succumbing to injuries, the deceased identified himself as Ram Bharose of Shahjahanpur district and said some passengers thrashed him, the SHO said.

A case has been registered against unidentified persons and investigations are on, the SHO added.

Several cases of innocents being beaten up following rumours of child lifting have been reported in Uttar Pradesh.