2 Workers Thrashed in Chennai Over Child-Lifting WhatsApp Texts
Gopal Sahu (25) and Binoth Vihari (22) attacked when they tried to stop a child from crossing a busy road.
Click here for the complete list of mob lynchings since 2015
Two men were allegedly beaten up by a mob in Chennai, over rumours that they were trying to kidnap a child on Sunday, 1 July. This is the latest in a spate of instances of mob-lynching, fuelled by WhatsApp rumours over child-lifting, that have been reported across the country.
One man has been arrested, and a hunt is on for the others, reported NDTV.
The victims Gopal Sahu (25) and Binoth Vihari (22), are migrant labourers from Odisha, and employed with a construction company that works for the Chennai Metro. They were attacked when they tried to stop a child from crossing a busy road, and a bystander raised an alarm, reported The Times of India.
According to the New Indian Express, the child’s mother Varalakshmi had gone to a nearby shop and the child ran out of the house after her. When one of the workers picked the child up to protect him, the mob attacked them.
A mob gathered, chased and beat up the two migrant workers. According to the daily, they were rescued by a police team and rushed to a private hospital.
On the same day, five people were lynched in Maharashtra's Dhule district by a mob who suspected that they were part of a gang of child-lifters, PTI reported. The incident took place at Rainpada, 25 kilometres from Pimpalner in the Dhule district, at around 11.30 am, officials told PTI.
Other Incidents of Lynching Over WhatsApp Messages
This week has seen multiple instances of mob lynching triggered by WhatsApp rumours. On 28 June, a hawker was lynched and two others were injured after a mob attacked them on the suspicion of being child-lifters at Murabari.
(This is a developing story.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)