Action must against child abduction rumours in social media: MP

As discussions continue over incidents of mob lynching, BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab on Thursday sought to draw the government's attention to the rumours of children's kidnapping in social media, which have fuelled several lynchings.

"Giving chocolates even out of love to children creates a panic situation in the country. Locals in Chennai recently chased three youngsters suspecting them to be child kidnappers... Luckily, they are safe," the MP from Cuttack said in the Lok Sabha.

Mahtab, however, said there is a genuine fear of child abduction in rural areas, particularly in tribal areas.

According to media reports, in the last two months more than 20 people have been lynched in India on suspicion of child kidnapping, and several of these incidents took place due to rumours spread through the social media, especially WhatsApp.

Citing the National Crime Records Bureau statistics the lawmaker said that more than one lakh children are missing across the country, out of which two-thirds of the victims are female, which points towards the "potential of sexual exploitation".

Recommending the Central government to take serious action, the lawmaker stressed that these rumours circulated in social media has affected large parts of the country "resulting in lynching of many innocent".

--IANS

sm/nir