Outrage grows over mob lynchings
WE KNOW VELVET revolutions and flash protests for justice could be mobilised by SMS. We also know wrong information can lead to serious issues — like lynching.
Recently it has been reported that six people were lynched in Jharkhand in eastern India. That toll is officially now nine, including two lynchings the week before by the mob. And these nine have lost their lives owing to a phone message.
A WhatsApp message warned the tribal community that dominates Kolhan division near the steel city of Jamshedpur that a group of child lifters were around, and parents must keep an eye out. The message was in Hindi. It asked the local people not to take the warning lightly. The message gave instances of earlier child lifting to prove the point. Clearly the message was carefully thought out. It went viral.
There were other points in the message that added specifics. “The suspected child lifters are carrying sedatives, injections, spray, cotton and small towels. They speak Hindi, Bangla and Malayalam.” And it ends asking all to watch out for strangers in the neighbourhood.
Jharkhand’s literacy level is around 65 per cent. But the Kolhan region is a backward area. Superstitions and rumours flourish. So does illiteracy. The tribals formed groups and started hunting for those who ‘looked’ like strangers. Imagine living in a village where groups roam about with weapons in hand, and frequently referring to a WhatsApp message.
The hunt lasted eight days. There was little presence of the law. Out of the nine, at least six were tortured. The victims included five Muslims and four Hindus. All of them were blindly labelled as child lifters, and punishment meted out.
Consider the damage fake news could do. Since Friday, Jamshedpur, the biggest city in Jharkhand, is under a kind of siege. Both communities are protesting against the incidents and the absence of law in the state. Public property has been damaged.
The state government is yet to make an official statement, or announce compensation for the families of the victims. No arrests have been made though some of the killers have been photographed by onlookers. It’s altogether another question how a large number of people turn spectators in what can only described as public execution.
Reportedly the victims were all asked: are you a child trafficker? When the victim naturally denied it, proof was asked. How does one prove what one has not done? And the lynchings begin, authenticated by the random WhatsApp message that hasn’t been so far sourced.
But no matter what the government does now, the dead will not return. Some of the pictures of the thrashing and lynchings are naturally in the social media.
The same media that was used to spread fake news is now being used to announce to the world the degree of the violence ordinary people are capable of.
Do yourself a favour. Just don’t trust you phone. In the wrong hands, it is injurious to health.
news@khaleejtimes.com