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A mob allegedly thrashed a woman over suspicion of child-lifting on Monday, 26 August, in Uttar Pradesh's Etah district.
Alarming incidences of mobs attacking people based on false rumours of child-lifting are reportedly on the rise.
Here are nine cases that took place between 25-28 August that illustrate the perils of spreading these kinds of rumours. This list is not exhaustive as more cases continue to be reported.
Ten people, including two policemen, were injured as a group of locals in neighbouring Fatehpur district pelted stones at police and attacked a health department team following rumours of child lifting, police stated on Thursday.
A group of nearly 150 people had laid siege to the health department van after the rumours sprang up.
The police team, which rushed to the spot, was attacked with stones, leaving 10 people injured.
Sub-Inspector Sunil Yadav and head constable Sarnam Singh were also injured in the incident.
“Security has been deployed in the village and the situation is normal,” said police.
Eight people were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly thrashing a man on suspicion of being a child lifter in Shahjahanpur in Meerut on Sunday, the police said.
The Superintendent of Police (SP), Akhilesh Narayan Singh, while speaking to ANI, said, “A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms. We identified the accused seen in the video and arrested them.”
The accused have been identified as Nadeem, Nazim, Pawan, Imran, Shahzad, Anas, Avneesh and Mustaji, all residents of Shahjahanpur.
A woman was thrashed by a mob outside a bank in Giridih, Jharkhand on Tuesday over child-lifting suspicions. She was rescued by the police who said that it was a “misunderstanding”.
The police, while speaking to ANI, said, “A woman left her son with her 8-year-old daughter outside a bank and went to withdraw cash. The victim, who was also going to bank, saw the boy crying and started playing with him.”
“When the mother of the infant saw this, she accused her of being a child-lifter which triggered the violence,” added the police.
Ghaziabad police on Tuesday warned against spreading fake news after misinformation about a woman child-lifter went viral on social media.
A woman had gone out with her grandson when she was attacked by a mob on child-lifting suspicions, near Johripur Loni border.
The police added, “Kindly do not broadcast and publicise such information and do not take law into your own hands. Strict action will be taken against the person who spreads fake news.”
In another horrific incident, five women were beaten on similar allegations in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday.
In the video, a huge crowd gathered and beat them while people watched.
The women said that they hailed from Surat, Gujarat, and added that as they had children of their own, they wouldn’t think of doing something like this to others.
“We went into the neighbourhood and the people started accusing us of child-lifting,” said one of them, reported ANI.
In Kanpur, two old men, Rajneesh and Ankur Gupta, were beaten by a mob on the same allegations, on Tuesday.
The crowd surrounded them and checked their Aadhar cards as well. On being repeatedly questioned, the two men said they didn’t hail from Kanpur, but were screamed at by the crowd.
SSP Anant Deo said that they were attacked on the rumours of child-lifting.
Speaking to ANI, he said,“The two men have been living with their families in Kanpur. They originally belong to Aligarh. Two people have been arrested in the case so far.”
“Five people have been arrested so far, and the investigation is underway,” he added.
One man was allegedly killed and another was critically injured after they were beaten up by a mob on child-lifting rumours in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.
Police searched the spot soon after the incident occurred and the victims were rushed to a nearby hospital.
“We have arrested four people till now and strict action will be taken against the accused people. Investigation in the matter is underway,” Yamuna Prasad, Superintendent of Police (SP) told ANI.
In Bihar's Gaya district, three people were beaten up by a mob on child-lifting allegations, the police said on Tuesday.
The three persons, all in their 30s and residents of Gaya town, caused a flutter in the village by firing a shot, the Tankuppa police station SHO Vikas Chandra stated.
“They were accompanied by a 12-year-old boy from their locality in Gaya. On seeing agitated villagers rushing towards them, they panicked and started fleeing in their car. This led to rumours that the three persons were running away after abducting the child,” said Chandra, reported PTI.
The officer added that when the trio and the child attempted to flee, the car overturned which caused minor injuries.
Following this, the villagers beat up the three people and only stopped when the child said that he was related to them, the SHO confirmed.
In another gruesome incident, a middle-aged woman was allegedly thrashed by a mob on suspicion of child-lifting on Monday in Etah, Uttar Pradesh.
Narrating her ordeal after being rescued by the police, the woman told ANI, “The people were beating me on suspicion of child-lifting and they even tried to forcefully shave my head. I was lying on the road and they were hitting me.”
The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sunil Kumar Singh said that an FIR has been registered in the case and the identification of the accused is underway.
The list does not end here.
A woman was tied to a tree and beaten up mercilessly by villagers on 11 August over similar allegations.
On 9 August, a man who was thrashed by a mob on the same suspicion died in Patna.
In Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, a self-proclaimed godman who goes by the name of 'Sakhi Baba' was beaten up by a mob along with two of his disciples on suspicion of child-lifting.
Clearly, the hysteria over child-lifting and the rumour-mongering are far more widespread and deadlier than we realise.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI).
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