INDIA Spike in slayings by mobs spurs security review
NEW DELHI — A woman was killed in central India on rumors that she was part of a gang that kidnapped children, police said Monday, days after the nation’s highest court called for immediate steps to control deadly mob violence across the country.
The Indian government announced Monday that it is setting up two committees to propose laws to deal with the growing mob violence.
At least 14 people were arrested in Madhya Pradesh state’s Singrauli district following the killing of the woman, senior police officer Riyaz Iqbal said.
Iqbal said residents informed police on Saturday that a woman’s body was in a forested area. An initial investigation showed she had been taken Friday night by a mob that dragged her to a village community center while punching and kicking her and hitting her with sticks.
Iqbal said the woman was seen roaming around neighboring villages a few days earlier amid rumors that members of child kidnapping gangs were active in the area. She has not yet been identified.
India has a long history of mob violence, but in recent years, the internet and smartphones have aided the circulation of deadly rumors even to remote places. At least 25 people have been killed and dozens wounded in mob attacks in the last three months over rumors they were part of child kidnapping gangs. The victims were outsiders, mostly targeted because they looked different or didn’t speak the local language.
Although Indian authorities have stated that there is no truth to the child-lifting rumors and the victims were innocent, the brutal attacks, often captured on cell phones and shared on social media, have spread across the country.
In addition, at least 20 people have been killed and dozens wounded by Hindu extremists who call themselves cow protectors and are linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bhartiya Janta Party. Most of the attacks have targeted Muslims.