Child lifting rumours trigger violence across North East

The rumours that the children are being kidnapped for their organs have triggered several violent incidents in some states located in the North East India region, such as Tripura and Assam.

Though it has been in Assam that the rumours have initially emerged, the majority of the violent incidents in connection with the rumours have happened in the North Eastern state of Tripura, which recently witnessed a regime change from the extreme left to the extreme right.

In last forty-eight hours alone, at least three people, including a person hired by the government to campaign against the false rumours propagated in the social media platforms have been killed in Tripura when the common people have started lynching those, they feel, are members of the criminal gang.

The police authorities of the state have directed the suspension of the internet connection in the violence affected regions in order to contain the violence.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb has asked the people to pay no heed to the rumours propagated through the social media platforms, and also claimed that it was a strategy envisaged by the leftists to damage the image of his government.

Expert says that each person act behind the rapid spread of the rumours must be punished severely in order to make sure that such a incident does not happen in the future.     

Vignesh. S. G

Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright