No child-stealing gang in Gujarat, don't believe rumours: Govt

After a woman was beaten to death by a mob here on the suspicion of being a child-lifter, Gujarat Home Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja today appealed people not to believe rumours.

Speaking to reporters in Gandhinagar, Jadeja said police have been asked to take action against those found spreading such rumours on social media.

The minister also said that some of the messages warning about gangs of child-lifters were issued in Pakistan, and ended up circulating in the state.

"Some messages claim that a gang of child-lifters has entered Gujarat to abduct children. Let me tell people that there is no such gang operating in the state. I urge people not to believe such fake messages or circulate them further," said Jadeja.

Circulation of such fake messages was an attempt to disturb the law and order situation, the minister said.

Incidents where people took law in their hands after coming across rumours were reported recently from Ahmedabad, Devbhumi Dwarka, Banaskantha, Rajkot, Surat and some other places, he said.

All the police stations in the state have been asked to increase patrolling to respond to any emergency situation arising due to such viral messages, he said.

Police have also been asked to activate the Anti-Human Trafficking Units and Special Juvenile Police Units, he said.

Yesterday, a 40-year-old woman was beaten to death by a mob in Ahmedabad city on the suspicion of being a child-lifter.

A week ago, two men were allegedly thrashed by a mob in Devbhumi-Dwarka district on a similar suspicion.

Such incidents have been reported from other parts of the country too.

"We will take strict action against those who are spreading rumours on social media. Police have also been asked to take action against those involved in attacking people," the minister said.

If a suspicious-looking person is spotted, people must not take law in their hands but contact police, Jadeja said.

"We have found that some of these messages were circulated in Pakistan for creating awareness about this issue (of child-lifting). Messages with photos which went viral in Gujarat are actually from Pakistan," he said.