Mangaluru : A group of persons chased a vehicle suspecting that a child had been kidnapped and assaulted three youths at the Kerala-Karnataka border police check-post in Saradka village in Vitla police station limits on Monday night. The group members rained blows on the three youths even as a police constable at the check-post tried in vain to prevent the attack.

According to the police, friends of Supreet, whose marriage was scheduled at the Arya Samaj in Mangaluru on Monday evening, went to meet Supreet’s fiancée in Kumble in Kerala in two vehicles. Supreet accompanied his friends.

Supreet picked up his fiancée from Kumble and was on his way towards the city in a car. His friends followed him in a sports utility vehicle. Both vehicles chose different routes to reach Mangaluru. Following the circulation of a message in the social media about a child being kidnapped in two vehicles, two groups of persons followed Supreet’s car and the other vehicle.

A constable posted at the border police check-post stopped the vehicle at Saradka. As he was checking vehicle records, a group of people came in two-wheelers. The group members rained blows on the three friends of Supreet who were inside the vehicle, after pushing aside the police constable. They also threw stones at the vehicle.

The police constable, who was alone, passed the information to the police control room that led Sub-Inspector of Police Ravish and constable Vinayak rush to the spot in a Rani Abbakka patrolling vehicle. As the police personnel reached the spot, the assaulting group of youths reportedly escaped, after throwing stones at the policemen.

Superintendent of Police B.M. Laxmi Prasad said that two cases have been registered against the assaulting group. A search is on to find the accused. Mr. Prasad said that Supreet and his fiancée were traced in the Manjeshwar Police limits by the Kerala police.