Teenager accused of child stealing jumps to his death from 40-foot-high overpass in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, after being chased by mob

In a tragic incident in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, a 31-year-old man named Avnish Kumar jumped from a 12-metre-high bridge and died on Tuesday. According to reports, the man was being chased by a mob who suspected him of child kidnapping.

An alleged video of the incident, which has now gone viral, shows the exact moment the man jumped from the bridge.

Watch the video here:

Earlier, two men were chased by villagers in the Line Bazar area. One of the men was caught, beaten and handed over to the police, but Avnish managed to escape and sought refuge on the flyover on the Varanasi-Lucknow highway.

He sat there in fear for almost eight hours, surrounded by a mob standing below.

Despite repeated attempts by police and fire officials to persuade him to come down, the man refused, fearing for his life.

Police officers on the scene tried to persuade the man to come down. They also provided safety nets and ladders to help him get down from the scene, but a traffic jam forced them to remove the nets.

Finally, Avnish jumped and succumbed to his injuries. He was rushed to the district hospital where doctors declared him dead.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing. Authorities are urging the public not to take the law into their own hands.

Local police also suggested that Avnish may have had mental health issues, further complicating an already tense situation.

Meanwhile, local authorities appealed for calm and stressed that in such a situation it is more important to rely on law enforcement rather than join a mob.