Videos related to child abduction create panic

PK Jaiswar
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 11

Videos of child kidnapping swarming social media platforms, like WhatsApp, have created panic among residents. Most of such videos have been found to be unauthentic. Another video of child abduction from Prinagari village in Patti subdivision of Tarn Taran surfaced on social media on Sunday. In the video, a youth can be seen urging people to circulate it more and more as two persons came in the village for selling blankets had kidnapped a child. During investigation, it turned out to be a rumour and that youth was arrested.

Bhupinder Singh. a resident of village, said the information was found to be wrong during a probe. The police were also informed about the incident who came to the spot but couldn’t come across any such incident. The police have arrested the youth who made the video and circulated.

Earlier, a video went viral in which a person was seen being beaten up by a group of men while accusing him of kidnapping a child. In another video, a destitute-looking person was thrashed. Though it could not be ascertained where the videos were shot, it led to a panic among people.

For the past couple of weeks, the social media is flooded with such videos while the police have been finding it difficult to dispel the fear among the local residents.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Mukhwinder Singh said the people should act in a responsible manner and should not share such videos which would have social implications before verifying the contents. “We are urging the people during police-public meetings to refrain from such activities. They can seek details by dialling 100 before circulating such videos so that unnecessary panic is not created among people,” he said.

He said the police recently received a similar information regarding child kidnapping at Kitchlew Chowk. Police teams reached the spot and intercepted the car in which the child was suspected to have been kidnapped. However, the information was found to be wrong. “A father was taking his child after an examination from a doctor,” said the DCP.

Similarly, a boy accused two youths of kidnapping him who “left him at Kitchlew Chowk” after he bit on their hands. Though a case has been registered, the police are yet to verify his claims.

One arrested

The latest video of child abduction from Prinagari village in Patti subdivision of Tarn Taran surfaced on social media on Sunday. In the video, a youth can be seen urging people to circulate it more and more as two persons came in the village for selling blankets had kidnapped a child. During investigation, it turned out to be a rumour and that youth was arrested.