LUCKNOW: In the wake of unrelenting mob violence over the rumours of alleged child lifting across Uttar Pradesh, the police authorities invoked National Security Act (NSA) against at least a dozen persons held in Sambhal district.
The arrests were made in response to the FIR lodged in the lynching case wherein two persons were attacked by a mob when they were taking their 7-year-old nephew to a doctor for treatment under Chandausi police station area.
As the mob thrashed both the siblings badly, one of them was declared dead upon arrival in the hospital by the doctors on Tuesday.
The two siblings were attacked on the suspicion of being child-lifters as they had their nephew with them.
In order to put a lease on rumour-mongering over social media and to top mob violence, UP DGP OP Singh on Thursday declared that police authorities had decided to invoke NSA against those indulging in rumour mongering and mob attacks.
Sambhal lynching is the first such case where NSA was invoked against the culprits of mob violence.
According to Chandausi SHO Jitendra Singh, raids were on at different locations to arrest the accused involved in mob lynching. Notably, fearing the police raids, most of the youngsters had fled the village.
"The efforts are o to nab others who were part of the mob and indulged in the attack. The identification is being made on the basis of the video footages of the incident," said a senior police officer.