The Rumor And The Mob, Who's Pulling The String?
There's no humor in this rumor – it kills people. In several parts of India, then now in the northeast, messages are in circulation online that child kidnappers are on the prowl. As a measure of precaution, Nagaland police recently published a circular telling the general public not to fall prey to unverified online messages.
But the neighboring state, Assam, hasn't been so lucky; while acting on the suspicion of being child lifters, a mob in Assam's Karbi Anglong has lynched Nilotpal Das – a sound engineer and music enthusiast – and his friend Abhijit Nath, when the two were on vacation. Both, hailing from Gawahati, have died. The violence occurred on 8 June, 2018.
Message from Nilotpal's friend via WhatsApp:
Question is, are there any child kidnapper on the prowl for real? I'm not sure. But in another instance, on 9th June, 2018, again in the state of Assam, this time in Gawahati, Dilwar Hussain and Tapan Bhowmik came under a mob attack. Once again on the suspicion of being child lifters. The two incidents have a great similarity in that in both cases, two individuals came under a mob attack on the same suspicion of child abduction. And both took place in Assam.
However, in the latter incident, the police were able to rescue the duo (Dilwar Hussain and Tapan Bhowmik) from the clutches of the enraged mob who came out with bamboo sticks and sharp weapons.
In the first incident, there's been a communal backlash against the inhabitants of Karbi Anglong, to the extent that even the students who're studying outside have been warned to leave their hostels and to go back to Karbi Anglong. The movements of vehicles have also been restricted as a form of collective punishment.
Conclusion
The Govt and the people in positions of power are equally responsible for what had happened; they are equally guilty of being apathetic to the concerns of the marginalized who have now turned into sore islands of criminal activity. Unless we address the problem along the line of restorative justice, I'm afraid punitive justice alone will not do much.
A Candle Light Procession from Diphu Club to Semsonsing Ingti Park for the loss of our innocent brothers Nilotpal Das and Abhijeet Nath has been organized by: AASU and KARBI SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS.
According to activist Akhil Gogoi, RSS & BJP are behind the spreading of fake messages on child lifters to divert the attention of the public and suppress the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
It is true indeed that the ruling party has been insidiously trying hard to somehow implement the anti-people bill (Citizenship Bill, 2016).
Gogoi said that he has submitted “proofs” about the role of the RSS and BJP to Assam Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia.
References
Nagaland Police Shoots Off Fake News Alert
In Assam Village, Guwahati Youths Lynched For ‘Looking Suspicious’
Mob lynches Guwahati youths on suspicion of being child lifters
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