Rumor-Fueled Vigilantism Sparks Assaults in Jharkhand

Two alleged assaults in Jharkhand's Deoghar and Koderma districts occurred as rumors of childlifting spread. A mentally challenged and an unidentified man were targeted but later rescued by police. Local authorities launched an awareness campaign urging residents to report suspicions to police rather than taking action themselves.

In Jharkhand's Deoghar and Koderma districts, two individuals were attacked on Monday amid growing fears of childlifting, according to police sources.

In Deoghar, a 35-year-old man was seized by a mob from Sura village under suspicion of child abduction. Despite being an outsider, he was accompanying a local boy in an auto-rickshaw. The police intervened, hospitalizing the man who has yet to disclose his identity, a senior officer stated.

Similarly, in Koderma, villagers assaulted a mentally unstable person from Naresh Nagar, misjudging him as a threat. Police promptly rescued him. In response to rising tensions, Jamtara's administration launched an 'awareness chariot' spearheaded by Deputy Commissioner Ravi Anand and SP Rajkumar Mehta, pleading for the community to alert authorities rather than take the law into their own hands.

(With inputs from agencies.)