In yet another incident of hostility set off by social media rumors, five persons were killed in Dhule district, Maharashtra on Sunday by villagers, who suspected them to be a fraction of a gang of "child lifters". Twenty-three people have been booked so far for their alleged participation, as ANI reported.

Dhule Superintendent of Police M Ramkumar said: "We have also identified some more accused in this case. Five teams have been formed to identify the accused."

Earlier Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar stated strong action will be taken against who is the accused.

The five, along with a few others, were seen getting down from a state transport bus in the tribal Rainpada village, police stated. When one of them reportedly tried to talk to a girl child, villagers, who had assembled for the weekly Sunday bazaar, attacked suddenly on them, they asserted.

As per the police, WhatsApp rumours of a gang of child kidnappers rounded in the village for the last few days.

According to The Hindustan Times, 14 lives have been claimed across the nation in mob lynching based on social media rumors across the country since 20 May.

 Worth mention here Lynchings have been reported from states such as Tripura, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha in the last two months, the report informed.