The Chhattisgarh Police on Tuesday arrested two men and detained a minor for allegedly killing a beggar in Korba district on the suspicion that he was a child abductor, PTI reported. The incident took place on May 27, but the suspects were held after the incident came to light, said Lemru police station house officer Ramlal Maravi.

The victim was begging for food outside a house when the accused allegedly saw him and suspected him to be child-lifter. Maravi said the accused asked everyone to not give him any food.

Later, the accused took the beggar outside the village and beat him up with sticks, before slitting his throat with an axe, police said.

The accused then buried his body in the dry bed of a nearby river. The Lemru police recovered the body after receiving a tip about the murder, PTI reported. The body was exhumed and the accused were held after they allegedly confessed to the crime.

The accused were identified as 19-year-old Manturam, 22-year-old Kunwar Sai and a 17-year-old youth. The beggar’s identity was not ascertained.

Several people were assaulted and lynched across the country in 2018 on rumours of being child lifters. In June 2018, a mob in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district killed two men, suspecting them to be out to kidnap children.