Unrest continued in many parts of Jamshedpur city in Jharkhand as fresh clashes between protestors and an apparently callous police continued on Sunday morning. Prohibitory orders under Section 144, which disallows more than four people from gathering at a place, were imposed in four parts of the city after violence in and around the areas on Saturday, reported PTI.
The unrest has been sparked by the lynching of four Muslim men in Saraikela-Khushwahan district on Thursday. The local police sought to act on rumours that were being spread on What's App for over a month on alleged 'child kidnappers' on the prowl.
The commercial electronic media has in a sense blacked out the developments in Jharkand even as the Telegraph, Hindustan Times and Indian Express have been reporting on it.
This was one of the two incidents of mob violence that took place in south Jharkhand on the same day as a viral Whatsapp rumour circulated in the area claiming that gangs of kidnappers were taking away children and killing them in a gruesome manner.
The first incident took place in Sobhapur village in Saraikela-Khushwahan district. Mohammed Naeem, an animal dealer and resident of Phulpal village in East Singhbhum, was passing through Sobhapur in Saraikela-Khushwahan district in a truck with three companions, Sajad Saju, Siraj and Alim on May 18. The people of the neighbouring Rajnagar village, who came to Sobhapur in search of child-kidnappers, attacked and killed Naeem and his three companies.
Later, a similar incident took place in Nagari village in East Singhbhum district, where a mob killed three people, including one Gautam Verma and his brother Vikas Verma, claiming that they were “bachcha chors” or child kidnappers. The Vermas had gone to the village to enquire about buying some land there.
As news of the first incident spread, protests were held in some Muslim areas on Friday, where residents closed shops and blocked roads, reported Indian Express. On Saturday, the protests intensified and several policemen were injured in the stones pelted by the mobs, reported Prabhat Khabar.
On Sunday, the police fired in the air to disperse the mobs in Jamshedpur’s Mango area. “The situation is under control now and adequate force have been deployed in the area,” Deputy Commissioner of East Singhbhum district Amit Kumar said. There are several videos etc of the police action in Jamshedpur.
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