Indian police have arrested 40 people in northeastern state of Assam for spreading rumours about child lifters and hate messages on social media.
A police official told newsmen on Tuesday that “the arrests came in the aftermath of Friday night’s horrific lynching of two youths in Assam.
“These arrests were separate from the 25 people held so far for the lynching of the duo in Karbi Anglong district.”
A mob of hundreds had beaten to death the duo- Nilotal Das, a 29-year-old sound engineer, and 30-year-old Abhijeet Nath, while they were on adventure tourism in a village in Assam’s Karbi Anglong, 200 km from capital Guwahati.
Media report said that they suspected them to be child-lifters.
“A massive manhunt is on to nab other accused in the lynching case,’’ local police chief G.V. Siva Prasad said on Monday.
State Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has issued a stern warning to people spreading fake rumours on social media.
“People found circulating rumours would be dealt with very firmly,’’ he told newsmen in Guwahati after holding a high-level security meeting on Sunday.
