Senior political leaders and police officers have urged people not to panic and believe messages on social media claiming that gangs of child snatchers are roaming the streets of Bengaluru. Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who was in Tumakuru, said that he has instructed the police to look into the matter.
In the wake of two cases of mob attacks on innocent people leading to the death of one man in a brutal lynching, the police are now tracing the source of the message.
“We are going to take suo motu action against people who are spreading fake information about child kidnappers and creating panic among residents,” said DCP Ravi Chennannavar.
Police say that this is one of the first instances of social media-fuelled violence in the city.
Helplines flooded with calls
Many child rights activists say that they have been receiving calls from parents who are panicking and claiming that a similar incident had taken place in their locality as well.
Nagasimha G. Rao, executive director of Child Rights Trust (CRT), said that he had received six calls from places across the State with callers claiming that child kidnappers were found in their locality.
Rao rushed to Marenahalli after rumours spread that a child had been kidnapped and later abandoned by a strange man. “Many of the parents in the locality are not even allowing their children outside their homes because of the messages being circulated on social media platforms,” he said.
Y. Mariswamy, member of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said that if the public comes across such rumours, they have to report it to the nearest police station and not take the law into their own hands. He said that there is a need for the police to take up sensitisation programmes to build people’s confidence.
Explaining the cause for this reaction, Manoj Kumar Sharma, professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) said that the reaction is governed by a number of factors, including the person’s psychological well-being. “ It is important to see how the person appraised the information and the meaning he attached to this information. These are responsible in determining his/her reaction, and sometimes can lead to exaggerated manifestation,” he said.
