Fear about rumoured kidnapping gangs drove the general public in Vikarabad town to nab four elderly women and hand them over to the police. On verification the cops said the women had arrived to avail treatment for tuberculosis.
The incident occurred Wednesday evening, adding to a growing number of instances involving unfounded panic due to messages being circulated on social media. The women, all aged over 60, were walking in the town when the public accosted them. The shaken women were then handed over to the cops.
“When we verified, we found that they had come to the TB sanatorium. They had their medicines and medical papers on them. They were innocent and let off after verification,” said Vikarabad Superintendent of Police T. Annapurna. The Vikarabad Police also denied reports that some farmers were beaten by the public in the district. In Warangal, the public rounded up some people and handed them over to the police suspecting they could be part of a gang of inter-state kidnappers on the prowl for children. Some messages also claim that gangs of murderers are on the loose. The Warangal Police, along with police in other districts, said it had conducted awareness programmes in several villages to arrest the growing panic due to the rumours.
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