Maharashtra: Mob Lynches Five to Death over WhatsApp Rumours of Child Nabbing

After claiming several lives, the free messaging application, WhatsApp is being helmed as the new serial killer of the country. In yet another lynching triggered by Whatsapp rumours, five people were killed by the villagers in Maharashtra’s Dhule district on July 1, on the suspicions of being child lifters. The incident took place at Rainpada, in Sakri Taluka, about 325 Km from the state capital Mumbai.

Also Watch: Unmasking the Media With Bhasha Singh-Episode 8, Mob Lynching, Kashmir and Rumours

According to a report in the Indian Express, five had just got down from a transport bus and when one of them tried to speak to a girl child, the villagers who had gathered there to visit the Sunday market allegedly attacked the five.

The assaulters, without confirming the identity of the victims, dragged them to the Panchayat office where they were thrashed to death. The victims, however, were nomads who had come at the weekly bazaar seeking alms.

The latest reports suggest that 23 persons have been taken into police custody related to the case.

For the last few days, some rumours were being circulated through WhatsApp about a gang of child lifters who were allegedly roaming around in the village. This might have triggered the villagers to attack the group of nomads, said the local police.

It's not just Maharashtra who has become a victim of mob lynching over WhatsApp rumours of child kidnappers on the prowl in some states. InChennai, two men were brutally attacked over the rumours that they were trying to kidnap a child. The victims were migrant labourers who have been working with the Chennai Metro as contract workers.

A look at some of the recent gruesome incidents of lynching over rumours of child-nabbing reported by the media

Maharashtra

On June 8, in Chandgaon village in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district, two men were thrashed to death and seven others were injured after the villagers attacked them on suspicion of being robbers. A mob of at least 1,500 people allegedly attacked nine men with wooden rods after nabbing them from a farm in the village. As per the news reports, the police officials confirmed that some fake messages about the presence of a gang of robbers were widely spreading on WhatsApp, which resulted in the murder of two people.

Tripura

On June 28, a man who had been hired by the Information and Culture Department in the state to campaign against the rumour mongering was killed over the suspicion of a child lifter. The deceased Sukanta Chakraborty was attacked in the Kalachhara in north Agartala. Prior to the incident, a mentally unsound woman was killed by a mob at Bishalgarh in Sepahijhala district. Apart from this, in Murabari in West Tripura, three hawkers from Uttar Pradesh were beaten up by a mob and the victims were chased into Tripura State Rifles camp. Though the force tear gas shells and resorted to firing, the mob left only after they had thrashed one to death.

Gujarat

In Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a 40-year old woman was beaten to death on June 26 over the suspicion of being a child lifter. While seeing a group of four women travelling in an auto rickshaw, a mob of 30 people had attacked and beaten one among them to death.

Madhya Pradesh

A WhatsApp message that was being circulated among the people of certain districts in Madhya Pradesh, resulted in the murder of two innocent men on June 17. The WhatsApp text saying that some people do rounds in the area would murder the people to sell their body parts, triggered an enraged mob of some 50-60 people into beating up these two people.

In a similar case of lynching fuelled by rumours, in Singrauli district, a man was beaten to death on June 27 over the suspicion of being a child lifter. In this case, also, the police officials had confirmed that rumours about a gang of child kidnappers were being widely circulated on social media.

Assam

Again, On June 8, the social media rumours had claimed the lives of two young Assamese men. A 29-year-old sound engineer and 30-year-old businessman were pulled out of their vehicle at Panjuri in Karbi Anglong district and beaten to death over the suspicion that they were child lifters.

Chhattisgarh

On June 22, an unidentified man was beaten to death in Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh over the suspicion of being child lifter that claimed the lives of more than a dozen people during the last two months.