NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday asked all states and Union Territories to check incidents of
mob lynching fuelled by rumours of child lifting circulating on social media.
In an advisory, the home ministry said this could be done through early detection and countering of such rumours and also ensuring that all kidnapping complaints were properly investigated.
Many people have been lynched over the past couple of months on suspicion of child lifting, the latest being the killing of five men in Maharashtra's Dhule district.
Taking serious note of such incidents, the home ministry has advised the states and UTs to "keep a watch for early detection of rumours of child lifting and initiate effective measures to counter them".
"The states and UTs have been asked to direct district administrations to identify vulnerable areas and conduct community outreach programmes for creating awareness and building confidence. It was also stressed that complaints of child abduction/kidnapping should be properly investigated to instil confidence among the affected persons," said a home ministry spokesperson.
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