NEW DELHI – Indian police said Monday they have arrested 23 people afterfive men were bludgeoned to death by a crazed mob in yet another horrificlynching to rock the country.

Local media estimate more than 25 people have been killed in recent monthsin similar cases sparked by false rumours spread on smartphones of childkidnapping or allegations of thievery or sexual harassment.

The latest incident saw eight men set upon in Dhule district, 330kilometres (205 miles) from India’s financial capital Mumbai in the westernstate of Maharashtra on Sunday.

Police said the attack began after locals spotted one of the eight talkingto a child after they disembarked from a bus near the village of Rainpada.

“They were confronted by the locals who had gathered at the Sunday marketafter suspecting them to be child kidnappers,” Dhule police chief MRamkumar told AFP.

Three of them escaped but five were dragged to the village council officeand beaten to death with sticks and blunt objects.

Police said they identified the alleged attackers from a video shot duringthe assault. Another dozen suspects were still on the run, they added.

Those killed were from Solapur district of the same state but some 450kilometres away.

The current spate of lynchings started in May last year in easternJharkhand state after rumours on WhatsApp about child kidnappers led to thelynching of six men.

The rumours have since resurfaced, with attacks reported in at least 11states.

The attacks — usually targeting outsiders — have left authoritiesscrambling to mount an effective response, with awareness campaigns andpublic alerts having a limited effect.

Last week a “rumour buster” official tasked with alerting the public tosuch hoaxes was lynched by a mob in the remote northeastern state ofTripura. – APP/AFP