Jamshedpur witnessed lynching of 7 men over whatsapp rumour

JAMSHEDPUR: The city is getting back to normalcy after it has witnessed large scale protest by Muslims for targeting the community.

Four Muslims were lynched, other than the protest, the area also witnessed communal clashes over child kidnapping rumors.

“There was a WhatsApp message which was going viral in the area for last 10 days and because of this rumor, the incidents happened in which seven persons were killed”, said Anup T Mathew, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Jamshedpur.

The violence was triggered by the circulation of WhatsApp messages of “child lifters” being active in the Kolkhan area of Jamshedpur.

The Muslim community under the banner Muslim Ekta Manch staged a large protest on streets of Jamshedpur.
The protest turned violent, when the protestors pelted stones at policemen, forcing them to control the protest firing rubber bullets and also using tear gas.

Police imposed Indian Penal code’s section 144 in the area prohibiting unlawful assembly of people. The Police also deployed Police personnel as well as Rapid Action Force personnel to control the area.

On May 18, four Muslim men, Naeem, Saraaj Khan, Sajju and Sheikh Halim were lynched in Jamshedpur for allegedly being a part of ‘Child lifters’ group as the locals claimed.
The same evening three more members Uttam Verma, Gangesh Gupta and Vikas were lynched for the similar reason.

Following the lynching of men, Jamshedpur Police appealed people not to believe in the rumors and maintain harmony in the city. The Police also published several advertisements in the newspaper appealing people to remain alerted against such rumors spread on social platforms and help police in controlling the situation, as reported in Indiatoday.