Telangana: At least three persons were lynched as the fake news went viral, sparking panic in the villages. Telangana: At least three persons were lynched as the fake news went viral, sparking panic in the villages.

Telangana Police on Monday held two juveniles in Khilla Ghanpur for allegedly circulating fake news via social media in the state, claiming some gangs had come to the village to kidnap children and kill them.

Posting photos of three innocent villagers of Khilla Ghanpur in local WhatsApp groups, the juveniles, in a voice message, allegedly instigated people to kill them immediately if anybody sees them. The fake news went viral, sparking panic in the villages.

Telangana has been in the grip of fear as three persons have been killed in separate incidents of lynching by groups of villagers and mobs across the state since May 22.

On May 26, the message was also received by Jetti Yadaiah, a resident of Manajipet village of Khilla Ghanpur mandal who found his photo and those of two of his friends J Srinivas and Sontam Raju in the message. A sense of tense atmosphere prevailed as other villagers recognized and started questioning them. Yadaiah then rushed to a police station and lodged a complaint.

Police found that two juveniles aged 15 and 16 had randomly clicked photo of Yadaiah and his two friends and created a fake post that they were child kidnappers. This post was widely circulated in local groups and led to panic, SP Rema Rajeshwari said. “In this case, both the juveniles put the life of the complainant at great risk, as the voice record asking people to kill went viral in local WhatsApp groups,’’ the SP said.

After receiving the complaint, a case was registered at Khilla Ghanpur Police Station under section 7(I) Criminal Law Amendment Act-1932, 504 IPC and Sec.67 Information Technology Act. During the investigation it was found that the fake news was created and circulated from the phones of the two juveniles who also belong to the complainant’s village.

The phones were seized and the evidence was collected from them although the fake posts in the WhatsApp groups were deleted. The two juveniles were arrested and produced before the Chairperson, Juvenile Justice Board, Child Welfare Committee, Mahabubnagar, who sent them to custody in a juvenile home.

SP Rema Rajeshwari who is holding additional charge of Wanaparthy district said that a massive educative campaign is going on in 233 villages of Wanapathy district to create awareness among the people about the potential security concerns of fake news being spread in social media.

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