Two incidents of mob action in Mhow in Madhya Pradesh and Bilaspur in Chhattsgarh show a growing lust for violence.
Lawyers at the Mhow court premises attempted to thrash an accused brought to the court in connection with the hearing in a rape case involving a minor girl.
In Bilaspur, bystanders joined the relatives of a rape victim to grab an accused brought by the police to the court.
A video from the court premises in Mhow showed the face of the accused person being covered with a black cloth by the policemen who had surrounded him to rescue him from the clutches of the angry lawyers.
But the lawyers somehow managed to grab Ankit, who is accused of raping and killing a four-year-old child in Indore district. They got hold of him while he was leaving the court and the police had a tough time securing him.
The accused was earlier taken on remand for three days. After the remand was over on Saturday, he was presented by the police in the Mhow court, which ordered the accused be sent to jail.
In Bilaspur, Bholaram Sahu was brought to the court on Saturday for the alleged rape of an 8-year-old on December 4. The girl staying with her grandmother was raped at knife point. The police took action immediately and arrested the accused.
The police said the girl's grandmother had gone to work when the accused barged into their house with a knife and raped her. When the girl's grandmother returned home in the afternoon, she saw her crying inconsolably as she narrated the incident. Bholaram had left the knife at the spot.
The neighbours who gathered at the spot on the grandmother's call informed the Sarkanda police who quickly located Bholaram through his mobile in Kawardha town. On public complaint, the police registered a case against him under Prevetion of Children from sexual offences (POCSO) Act. Bholaram has been in jail in the past for other cases.
On Saturday, the mob burst into a violent charge on seeing him being taken to the District Court and demanded that the accused be hanged. The crowd was baying for Bholaram's blood while he was brought to the court.
( With inputs from IANS )