
A 32-year-old software engineer was beaten to death while three others sustained grievous injuries over rumours of kidnapping at Bidar in Karnataka on Friday evening.
The police have arrested 32 people so far in connection with the incident.
Four people from Hyderabad - Mohammad Azam, Basheer, Salman and Akram had gone out for a drive. While on their way back they stopped on the roadside and offered chocolates to children around, said the police.
Local residents on spotting the man handing out chocolates to the child, sent messages on a WhatsApp group. Soon after a large crowd gathered and attacked the four men, who immediately got into their car and drove away. Some of the villagers chased them on motorcycles, said the police.
The speeding car met with an accident and fell into a ditch. The crowd caught up and brutally beat them up again, said witnesses.
Hundreds of villagers gathered but none went to the rescue of the victims. By the time the police arrived, Mohammad Azam had died. The others were taken to the hospital in Hyderabad.
Among the 32 arrested for the killing, one is the administrator of the WhatsApp group.