Mistaken for child lifters, three women targeted in Bengaluru

The fear over online messages of “gangs of child lifters” continued for the third day, with the police rescuing three women in Whitefield on Friday from a mob who had targeted them.

The police have been scrambling to curb instances of mob violence, not just in Bengaluru, but in Kolar and other districts.

The messages, which police assert are not based on facts, have seen locals scared of “anyone from outside the area”. In Whitefield, however, three locals had to be rescued after a group of people were convinced they were “child kidnappers” based on the viral messages.

At least five criminal cases have been filed and the police have rescued 16 people since Wednesday. Meanwhile, the police are also engaged in the task of finding the source of rumours as well as battling the steady stream of messages propagating in social media groups.