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CLAIM
A video of an unruly mob thrashing a man, allegedly a child-lifter, has been circulating on WhatsApp. It shows a shirtless man heckled by the mob, while faint voices in the background can be heard saying “beat him”.
Towards the end of the video, the same crowd thrashes another man.
In the wake of multiple false child-lifting rumours, The Quint received the 1.05 minute long video of the incident for verification of the child-lifting claims made around it.
WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
The video is not related to child-lifting and is from Madhya Pradesh. The man in the video is thrashed by the crowd for trying to escape after stealing a goat.
WHAT WE FOUND
The video is from Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch town and is from July 2019.
The Quint found that the incident took place after three people tried to escape with a stolen goat.
Locals thrashed three people, who were said to be on the run after allegedly stealing a goat, near the town’s Bhadwa Mata road.
Their bikes were also set on fire by the mob later on.
An FIR had been filed in the case against three people for stealing the goat and against the locals who thrashed them.
Multiple cases of fake news related to child-lifting have emerged this year which claimed many lives across the country. According to a report by IndiaSpend, at least five people were killed till July this year. The rumours, which became prominent last year, have claimed 33 lives in 69 mob attacks since January 2017.
NO END TO CHILD-LIFTING RUMOURS?
Many reports have surfaced recently over fake videos and images being circulated on child-lifting. People have been lynched or attacked on mere suspicion of the crime.
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