Tag: social media

Bihar police drive to stop mob violence

Source: thehindu.com

The Bihar police have launched a massive drive on social media and are conducting awareness programmes appealing to people to stay away from mob violence which has taken eight lives in the past two-weeks, mostly in Patna district. Over two dozen cases have reportedly been triggered by rumours of child lifting in past one month.

On Saturday, a man was beaten to death by a violent mob in Mohammadpur village under the Naubatpur police station in Patna district. The lynching took place on rumour that the man was a child lifter.

“As many as 43 people have been named and 150 are unidentified in the FIR…we have arrested 23 of those involved in the incident,” the officer-in-charge of the Naubatpur police station, Samrat Deepak Kumar, said.

He added that the local police have been appealing to people, while making announcement on loudspeakers, not to believe in such rumours.

Earlier, on August 3, two such incidents of mob violence took place in Rupaspur and Dhanarua villages.

Alarmed with the rising trends of mob violence over child-lifting rumours, the police headquarters has instructed all district police superintendents to launch a drive against such incidents and make people aware through social media and public interaction not to believe rumours.

‘Don’t believe rumours’

Patna Senior Superintended of Police Garima Mallik held public meetings in different locations in the capital and appealed to the people not to fall prey to such rumours. The Patna District Magistrate, Kumar Ravi, too has expressed concern over such incidents and asked people to remain vigilant about such rumour mongering.

In most of the incidents, the victims have been from weaker section of society. Apart from Patna, such incidents of mob lynching have also been reported from Kaimur and East Champaran districts. In Patna district, incidents of mob lynching were mainly reported from Sadisopur, Neora, Maner, Rupaspur, Fatuha and Naubatpur.

“Special drives have been launched to sensitise people against such rumours…special patrolling of police personnel too have been initiated in such rumour-prone areas”, State Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey told media persons on Saturday.

In 2018 as many as 19 incidents of mob lynching were reported from the State while in 2017 and 2016 the number of such incidents were 13 and 7 respectively.

Goa to probe mass influx of labourers by Patna-Vasco Express

Source: indiatoday.in

Former Goa Minister Rohan Khaunte on Wednesday expressed concern about hordes of labourers arriving at Goa’s Thivim railway station by the Patna-Vasco Express, while also stating that the immigrants could be used as vote banks by politicians.

Responding to Khaunte’s concerns, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the Goa legislative assembly that he had directed the North Goa Collector to probe the mass arrival of labourers by train number 12742 and their whereabouts.

“When a train full of labourers arrives in Goa, there is fear. Labourers come to Goa for work and then they get a plot with help of elements in panchayats, they build a house and then become voters. Where have they come from, what are their antecedents, needs to be checked,” Khaunte told the legislative assembly during Question Hour.

Khaunte’s comment comes days after a video of hundreds of passengers alighting the train number 12742 Patna-Vasco Express at the Thivim railway station in North Goa went viral on social media.

Nationalist Congress Party MLA Churchill Alemao also alleged that the employment ratio between Goans and non-Goans in the state’s casinos was skewed, urging the Chief Minister to ensure that more Goans get employment in the casino industry.

“80 per cent employees of casinos are outsiders. Casinos are needed for revenue, but they have to give jobs to Goans. Most of the jobs are taken by Manipuris and Nepalis,” Alemao said, even as Sawant assured the House that he would direct the state Labour Ministry to examine the issue.