4 thrashed in Dhubri on child-lifting suspicion

GUWAHATI: Spurred by rumours that child lifters are on the prowl, four persons have been thrashed in separate incidents of mob violence in Dhubri district in the last 48 hours.
Police immediately sounded an alert and appealed to people not to fall prey to such rumours and abstain from taking law into their hands.
"Rumour mongering has become a major threat. In the first incident on Tuesday, two men were beaten up after a rumour of child lifters roaming in the district went viral on WhatsApp. A senior official of Dhubri's Gauripur police station was also assaulted by a mob when he tried to rescue the victims," said a senior police official.
On Wednesday evening, two mentally challenged women were thrashed by a group of people at a village near Gauripur on suspicion of being child lifters. "One of the victims is yet to be identified as she is not in a condition to speak. It seems that people are attacking people who are not known to them," the official added.
Five persons have been arrested so far in connection with the two cases.
Police are scrutinizing a video in which a mob is seen beating up an unidentified woman. Sources said a group having vested interests was possibly trying to create panic in the area by targeting mentally challenged women. The cyber cell of Dhubri Police is trying to find out the source of the video and also indentify the rumour mongers. Police have urged the people not to panic and refrain from spreading false news.
Last year, two youths from the city were lynched by a mob at Doboka in Assam's Karbi Anglong district on suspicion of being child lifters. The incident forced the state police to sharpen its cyber vigilance.