A 40-year-old beggar woman was lynched on the suspicion of being a ‘child lifter’ on Tuesday as rumours spread on Whatsapp. Another woman was assaulted in Surat on the same day for the same reasons but the child she was with was her own.
Ahmedabad: Mob justice took an ugly turn on Tuesday as social media fear mongering took another innocent life in Gujarat. A 40-year-old beggar woman was lynched on the suspicion of being a ‘child lifter’ on Tuesday as rumours spread on Whatsapp. Another woman was assaulted in Surat on the same day for the same reasons but the child she was with was her own.
“The victim, identified as Shanta Devi, a resident of Sumerpur taluka in Rajasthan’s Pali district, was accompanied by three more women in an auto-rickshaw when a mob of 40 to 50 people chased the vehicle and attacked them, said police. The three other women were also injured in the attack in Vadaj area and have been admitted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital,” reported The Indian Express. They were pelted with stones and beaten with sticks, killing one and grievously wounding others.
“In her police complaint, Ansiben, Shanta’s sister-in-law, said that they were attacked and brutally beaten by a mob after they had finished collected alms and were riding in auto-rickshaw with two other women, heading towards Juna Wadaj at around 2:25 pm. “At that time, we saw some people chasing our auto-rickshaw and at Wadaj circle they stopped us,” the complaint said. The mob, the complaint said, shouted “tame balak uthavi lavi java vali gang cho” (you are the gang of child-lifters), dragged them out of the auto-rickshaw and beat them up,” added the report.
“Traffic cops intervened and rescued the women, but it was too late for Devi who was declared brought dead at Civil Hospital,” said Vadaj police inspector JA Rathwa. Police commissioner AK Singh said a case of murder and rumour mongering would be registered against unknown persons,” reported Times of India.
In Surat, a 45-year-old woman was beaten up on Tuesday over rumours of child kidnapping. After she was handed over to the police, it came to light that the child she was carrying was her own. “Labhuben Dinesh Tejani was attending a family function in the Varachha area of Surat. When she stepped out to buy balloons for her three-year-old daughter, people assumed her to be a child lifter. A mob quickly surrounded her and started accusing her of kidnapping the child. They pulled the child away from her and some men allegedly slapped her a few times. Soon, the Varachha Police arrived at the spot and took Labhuben and her child to the police station. Her husband, Dinesh Tejani, arrived and explained the situation. No FIR has been lodged in the matter,” reported the Quint.
At least 14 people, including 11 women, have recently been attacked by mobs in Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.
“In Rajkot, a visit to check matrimonial prospects turned nightmare for a woman and three others of a family from Maharashtra as they were gheraoed by a mob on the suspicion of being child-lifters. They were, however, rescued in time by cops. In Jetpur in Rajkot district, a 55-year-old man was beaten by a mob on the suspicion of being a child-lifter. Similarly, two women were roughed up by residents on the suspicion of being child kidnappers in Vadodara. In Palsana area in Surat, five women were caught by locals and beaten. Police checked their identity and found them to be beggars,” added TOI.
Read also: https://sabrangindia.in/article/mob-lynches-suspected-kidnapper-malda-west-bengal