Social media users and rumour mongers on Friday and Saturday attempted to give a communal twist to the murder of Pankaj Narang, a dentist lynched by a dozen-strong mob in Vikaspuri on the eve of Holi over a trivial incident.

The Delhi Police set the record straight by sharing with the public the religion of the nine suspects they had nabbed on Friday.

Dependra Pathak, Joint CP (South-Western Range), said the police would probe the source of the rumours and would take action against the culprits.

After shunning the media all through Friday, a member of Dr Narang’s family also came forward on Saturday to dismiss the rumours. “Neither was the assault related to the India-Bangladesh cricket match nor was there any communal connection to it,” said Sameer Narang, the dentist’s cousin.

The rumours had begun to float on Friday evening when some social media users alleged that it was a Muslim mob that lynched Dr Narang.

While some described the suspects as Bangladeshis, others said the “Bangladeshis” were upset at Dr Narang and his son’s celebration of India’s victory over its neighbour in the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup.

Twitter hashtags like #DrPankajLynched, #JusticeForPankaj and #IllegalBangladeshiMuslims were the top trends on the social media site through the two days. Under the garb of seeking justice for the dentist or raising the issue of illegal migrants, many tweets gave a communal colour to the murder.

Among the first to respond on Friday evening was Monika Bhardwaj, Additional DCP (West), who took to Twitter to dispel the rumours.

In one of her posts she pointed out that five of the nine arrested suspects were Hindus. She also said all the nine were from Moradabad in UP and not Bangladesh.