Child-lifting rumours fuel MP mob attacks

Indore: A video of a woman being beaten in Indore has exposed a disturbing surge in mob violence fuelled by rumours of child-lifting, with innocent people being attacked in multiple districts of Madhya Pradesh without any evidence.

The woman in the video, who was assaulted in Bhanwarkuan area here, was identified as Rekha Devi, a 45-year-old woman with mental health issues who has been missing from Meerut for over a year. After her daughter traced her through the clip, police confirmed that Rekha had been questioned and released as she was not involved in any crime. She has since gone missing again.

Rekha's case is part of a wider pattern of panic-driven attacks in Indore and its neighbouring districts where strangers are being confronted and beaten on the mere suspicion of being child-lifters. Police said that none of the recent cases involved any actual kidnapping.

In Ratlam, six men returning from a temple were dragged out of their car and assaulted by villagers when they stopped at a roadside dhaba. A 34-year-old researcher was surrounded, beaten and filmed by a group of women who accused her of child-lifting in Indore's MIG area.

In Dhar district, five itinerant workers from Rajasthan narrowly escaped after being attacked over similar rumours. Dewas police arrested two men for spreading false messages and inciting attacks on passersby.

Senior officers have warned that rumours circulating on WhatsApp and local networks are triggering fear and mob violence.

"There is no confirmed child abduction gang operating in Indore or nearby districts," said Indore police commissioner Santosh Kumar Singh. "People must not act on rumours or take the law into their own hands," he said.

Police have urged citizens to report suspicious activity instead of confronting individuals, stressing that rumour-mongering and mob assault are criminal offences.


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