India blocks WhatsApp to prevent mob killings

– Authorities in northeastern India have cut internet access after crazed mobs beat three people to death in the latest cases of lynchings sparked by false rumours spread on smartphones, officials said yesterday.

The killings are just the latest in India to be sparked by false rumours of gangs of child kidnappers spreading like wildfire on smartphone messaging service WhatsApp in recent months.

The victims are usually not locals. People have also been beaten to death on suspicion of stealing cattle.

“The administration has decided to cut off the internet and mobile messaging services for next 48 hours ... to stop rumourmongering,” said Smriti Ranjan Das, a police spokesperson in the tribal-dominated state of Tripura. The victims, one of whom was tasked by authorities with warning people against hoaxes, perished in three separate incidents on Thursday.

Locals in Sabroom, about 130km from state capital Agartala, attacked “rumour buster” Sukanta Chakraborty with sticks and bricks as he was warning people on a megaphone against fake information.

Tripura police said it was unclear what sparked the attack.

Das, the spokesperson, told AFP that the man died on the spot and that his driver was injured in a frenzied attack that lasted nearly an hour.

“It was a sudden and vicious attack and they didn’t get time to escape. Our teams reached on the spot and could only rescue the driver,” Das said. – AFP