Following rumours about child lifters, a sense of panic has set in among the people of Yadgir district, resulting in many parents not sending their children to school.
Despite clarification from the police about fake messages being circulated on social media, the people are yet to be reassured.
On suspicion of being child lifters, two persons were caught and handed over to the police, which subsequently turned out to be a false alarm.
“The news is completely false. We enquired with those caught by the people. We came to know that one is a native of Shahpur and the other is from Yadgir rural police station limits,” C.B. Vedamurthy, Superintendent of Police, told The Hindu.
Messages and viral videos on social media have become a headache for the police who are tired of clarifying to the people that news of child lifters is a lie.
The police have begun sensitising people through public platforms and have also asked them not to attack anyone on suspicion of being child lifters.
They have appealed to the public to alert the police immediately in case of suspicious activities, instead of taking the law into their hands.
Senior police officers and other personnel have begun visiting rural areas and creating awareness among people by using loudspeakers mounted on vehicles.
“We will take action against those spreading false news and also against the people who will assault unknown persons instead of alerting the police,” Dr. Vedamurthy said.
