How WhatsApp Rumours Of Child Traffickers Led To Two Mob Lynchings in 24 Hours In Tamil Nadu

Most of us forward messages on WhatsApp, believing we're doing 'social service' by spreading awareness in the society.

That is why forward messages including photos and videos of people said to be are child lifters are flooding WhatsApp chats across Tamil Nadu.

But little did the people forwarding the so called awareness messages realise the disservice they are doing and the paranoia created by their 'harmless act' until mobs, decided to take things into their own hands.

Convinced that they have found a child lifter, two people including a 65-year-old woman were lynched by angry mobs in Tamil Nadu within the span of 24 hours, making it the fifth incident of vigilante justice reported in the state in one month.

In the first incident, a 65-year-old woman from Chennai was beaten to death by a mob on Thursday, in Athimur, Tiruvannamalai district, around 170 km southwest of Chennai, on the assumption that she was trying to steal a child from the village.? ?

Hours later an unidentified man said to be in his 30s was lynched by a mob after rumours spread that groups of people from “northern states” had been looking to steal children from the area, some villagers came upon a man wandering around in a “suspicious” manner.

“Because the man would not answer their questions, they beat him up severely,” a police officer said. “The villagers gouged out one of his eyes, attacked his face and head and kicked him and stamped on him till he was dead.”

Reuters

Yet another case of mob attack was reported on the same day where a mob attacked and severely injured a man, believed to be from north India, after they spotted him speaking to children near Poondi Lake.?

Following the increase in the number of attacks, police are trying to crackdown on those spreading rumours on social media.

So far one person has been arrested for spreading the rumours on WhatsApp about children being kidnapped and 18 others on charges of lynching a man.

BCCL/Representational Image

The arrested was identified as Veeraraghavan R, a mason. He posted a video in WhatsApp said a group of North Indians were roaming around in the district for kidnapping children.

The video which was uploaded in WhatsApp on May 2 has since been shared on Facebook too.?

In a press release, police urged public not to believe rumour and asked them to report any suspicious persons, if they came across. Police also warned stern action against those spreading false news on social media.

While this is a new phenomenon in Tamil Nadu, neighbouring Kerala was battling a similar situation a few months back.

Once again the villain in the case was WhatsApp forwards, and just like in the case of Tamil Nadu, often on the receiving end was non-residents, especially those from northern states, doing odd jobs to make a living. Since they don't properly understand the local language, these people are unable to defend themselves when the 'convinced' mob began questioning them.

Last year, seven people were lynched by a mob in Jharkhand after someone circulated their photos on WhatsApp claiming that the group was involved in child trafficking.