In yet another incident, a transgender was killed by a mob in Hyderabad over a fake Whatsapp message. The victim was a 52 year old transgender who was beaten to death by a mob accusing him of being a child snatcher.
Two others besides the victim, Swamy and Narasimha, were severely injured. The three were admitted to the Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad. This is the fourth such incident where fake news led to deadly mob attacks.
Earlier, three cases were reported in Nizamabad and from the outskirts of the City. The groups of transgenders were in Hyderabad seeking alms for the holy month of Ramdaan.
These groups were attacked by locals in the South zone area of Hyderabad. This was due to fake Whatsapp forwards about a gang kidnapping children in the State.
The police managed to save two of the transgenders but the third Chandraiah was hit on the head with a boulder. Chandraiah died on the spot while the mob went on to attack the police and local corporator.
Local police officer Y. Prakash Reddy explained, “Based on video footage of the incident, 35 people were taken into custody.” Mr. Reddy also reported a murder case was registered against the accused.
Hyderabad’s Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said, “For the last two weeks, provocative messages, photos and videos, from local sources and also old video from Syria, Sri Lanka etc., is being circulated, to incite people. We forbid people from forwarding such messages and encouraging rumor mongering.”
