19 arrested in India over Whatsapp lynchings

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Indian police said Monday they had arrested 19 people for the brutal lynching last week of two men over Whatsapp rumors they were abducting children.

Sixteen people were taken into custody over the weekend and three more on Monday, local police chief G.V. Siva Prasad told the media.

"With the latest arrest of three more persons early on Monday morning, the total number of arrests in the case now stands at 19... A massive manhunt is on to nab other accused in the case," he said.

Demonstrators stage a silent protest following the lynching of two men over Whatsapp rumors, in Guwahati, India, June 11, 2018. /VCG Photo

The lynchings, which triggered massive outrage across the country, occurred on Friday night in a mainly tribal area in India’s northeastern state of Assam.

A mob pulled the two men, aged 29 and 30, from their car as they were visiting the area and beat them to death. A video on YouTube showed the badly bruised and bleeding men pleading for their lives.

The two friends, residents of Assam’s Guwahati city, were returning from a picnic spot.

"The villagers got suspicious of the strangers as for the last three or four days messages were going around on WhatsApp, as well as through word of mouth, about child kidnappers roaming the area," senior state police official Mukesh Agrawal earlier told AFP news agency.

According to police, those arrested include one person who allegedly spread the child kidnapping rumor on social media.

The brutal killings triggered protests in Guwahati, where some 2,000 people gathered on the streets to demand justice for the victims.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said he was "deeply anguished" by the incident and that those found guilty of the violence would face the strictest punishment.

"People found circulating rumors would be dealt with very firmly," he told the media after holding a high-level security meeting on Sunday.

India has seen a string of vigilante mob killings sparked by unverified allegations circulated on social media.

Last month, six people were killed in separate incidents in southern India prompted by rumors about a child kidnapping gang.

Last year, eight men were killed in similar attacks in Jharkhand state in the east.

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Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency