WhatsApp message turns killer
Asked tribals to be wary of strangers who could be child lifters; post protests, police say social media may be banned in East Singhbhum till rumours die down
A message widely in circulation on WhatsApp, warning the tribal community to keep an eye on its children as childlifter groups are wandering in villages, has claimed the life of nine people in Jharkhand’s Kolhan division and pushed Jamshedpur city to the verge of a communal flare-up.
The message, which is in Hindi and is being widely shared on social media — HT has the message — further warns villagers not to treat it as a rumour and take extra care of children who play in the open. It gives three instances of Jaduguda and Rakha mines areas where suspected child lifters were nabbed and handed over to the police.
“The suspected child lifters are carrying sedatives, injections, spray, cotton and small towels. They speak Hindi, Bangla and Malayalam. If you happen to see any stranger near your house, immediately inform local police as he could be a member of the child-lifting gang,” it warns.
Police said they have tracked few people who have shared the message but have not been able to trace the source.
Across the tribal belt in Kolhan region, where people are largely illiterate, or school dropouts, the message has been taken so seriously that villagers are now vary of every person, especially those who do not look like them or speak their language.
Over the last eight days, tribals have lynched nine people and have brutally thrashed and injured at least six of them. The victims include five Muslims and four Hindus, who were falsely branded child lifters.
Agitated by the killings, both Muslim and Hindu groups have taken to violence in the city, blocking roads, attacking policemen and damaging vehicles.
On Saturday, people took to the streets since morning with sticks and bricks and blocked vehicular traffic.
When police arrived to remove the blockades, they had to face bricks and stone pelting in which some officers were injured. Eventually, a company of Rapid Action Force was pressed into service to help clear the roads. Police had to resort to lathi charge and even fire tear gas shells in some localities to control the situation.
The clashes between police and agitators are further adding to the already tense atmosphere in and around the city.
Reacting to the developments, tribal filmmaker Vinay Purty said, “Being new to social media ,the tribal populace cannot distinguish between a rumour and news.” He added that everything shared and circulated on phones is assumed to be correct and hence, people react with lot of emotion and anger if the message is detrimental to their interests.
“We are in talks with service providers and may take a decision soon to ban social media in the entire district for a day or two till rumours die down,” said East Singhbhum rural SP Shailendra Burnwal.