PATNA: At a time when six persons including two women have been lynched after being accused of child lifting in the past two months, the Director-General of Police Gupteshwar Panday confirmed that not a single incident of child-lifting has taken place in Bihar.
The state has witnessed around 30 cases of mob violence in the last couple of months, with a man being beaten up in Bihar for stealing a child being the first. Several mentally challenged people, beggars and homeless people have been attacked in different parts of Bihar ever since.
"Not a single incident of child lifting has been reported in any part of the state. All the incidents of mob lynching or violence have taken place following a rumour on child-lifting through social media,” DGP Panday said during a webcasting session.
Panday suspected a conspiracy behind the spread of such rumours on child-lifting. "I appeal to the people of the state not to indulge in any act of violence, he said. Requesting the people not to take the law into hands, he added there are stringent laws against atrocities. He called upon the youths of state to come forward and educate the people against falling for cyber rumours.
Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar had also made an appeal to the public on Saturday not to resort to violence believing rumours.
| YEAR | NO. OF INCIDENTS REPORTED |
| 2013 | 8 |
| 2014 | 9 |
| 2015 | 20 |
| 2016 | 7 |
| 2017 | 13 |
| 2018 | 19 |
| 2019 (Until Aug 10) | 30 |