Panic gripped the coastal districts of Visakhapatnam after rumours about child kidnappers roaming around went viral on social media.

Visakhapatnam city was the worst affected as at least 12 people were thrashed by a mob after suspicion of them being child kidnappers within 24 hours of the news being circulated.

One person lost his life in the mob lynching and five others were admitted in a hospital with severe injuries after they were thrashed by the crowd.

The panic kept spreading on WhatsApp in spite of the police requesting people to not believe the messages and videos going viral.

A supermarket clerk was thrashed brutally by mob in the city after people found him to be moving around suspiciously and not a Telugu speaker.

The mob stripped the man and lynched him to death.

However, acting swiftly, the police arrested three people for killing the unidentified man.

In another incident which was reported in Kancharapalem, a lady identified as Bewathi Begum was thrashed after people suspected her of being a child lifter after Rs 1.75 lakh cash was found in her bag that raised suspicion.

She, too, couldn't speak Telugu.

Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam city police comissioner T Yoganand appealed to the people not to believe the social media rumours and confirmed that not a single incident of child kidnapping was reported in the city in the past 15 days.

He warned those who were taking the law in their hands and assured of strict action against attackers.

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