Police said on Monday that the attack began after locals spotted one of the eight talking to a child after they got out of a bus near the village of Rainpada.

“They were confronted by the locals who had gathered at the Sunday market after suspecting them to be child kidnappers,” said Dhule police chief M. Ramkumar.

Three of them escaped, but five were dragged to the village council office and battered to death with sticks and blunt objects.

Police said they identified the alleged attackers from a video shot during the assault. Another 17 suspects were still on the run, they added.

Ten bodies found hanging from roof in India house of horror

Those killed were from Solapur district of the same state but some 450km (280 miles) away.

Separately police rescued four people, including a couple and their two-year-old child, from a 1,000-strong horde in Malegaon, 50km (31 miles) southwest of the first incident.

They took refuge inside a house and police were able to arrive just in time, arresting five people, said local police officer Vittal Sase.

The spate of lynchings started in May last year in eastern Jharkhand state after rumours on WhatsApp about child kidnappers led to the lynching of six men.

Lynch mob beats two men to death for rape and murder of young girl

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

The attacks – usually targeting outsiders – have left authorities scrambling to mount an effective response, with awareness campaigns and public alerts having a limited effect.

Last week a “rumour buster” official tasked with alerting the public to such hoaxes was lynched by a mob in the remote northeastern state of Tripura.