More than 100 people have been arrested for allegedly beating three men to death in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.<\/p>\n
The incident happened in Palghar district on Thursday but a video of the attack went viral on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Reports say the men, who were reportedly mistaken for thieves, were going to a funeral when the mob dragged them out of their car.<\/p>\n
India has been under lockdown since 25 March to curb the spread of Covid-19.<\/p>\n
Among the dead are two Hindu godmen and their driver.<\/p>\n
The viral video shows the mob lynching the men as police struggled to rescue them. The mob reportedly suspected that the men were child abductors.<\/p>\n
Attacks over child abduction rumours have happened in the past<\/a>\u00a0in different parts of the country.<\/p>\n Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that strict action would be taken against the culprits.<\/p>\n Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the incident showed that the government was not in control of the law and order situation in the state.<\/p>\n Several Hindu groups have also criticised the incident and raised questions over the lockdown measures in the state.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said there was nothing communal about the incident.<\/p>\n He added that the victims and the attackers belonged to the same religion. His statement came after several posts on social media tried to stoke religious tensions over the attack.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"