Telangana: Fake messages on kidnappers trigger panic in erstwhile Medak

Police have suggested that every person carry an identity card with them if they are going to new places and to dial 100 if anyone held them up or questioned them

Sangareddy: Destitutes, hawkers, beggars, garbage collectors and mechanics, who move around in villages are now being stopped by villagers and questioned, courtesy a few fake messages on WhatsApp and other social media platforms that say child kidnappers are on the prowl.

Going alone without any identity cards is seriously posing a risk for their life. Non-Telugus, who do not know Telugu, are facing more questions in particular. In such one incident, residents of Gopalrao Nagar Colony in Patancheru mandal attacked a woman, allegedly mentally unstable, on Saturday night mistaking her for a kidnapper. Since she could not speak properly, the locals tied her to a tree and thrashed her.

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The same woman was caught by Madharam villagers in Patancheru mandal a few days ago. Earlier, residents of Boppapur in Akberpet-Bhumpally Mandal in Siddipet district held a group of men who were roaming in the village. Even though they tried to convince the citizens that they were gas stove mechanics, the villagers held them and called in the police, who examined their identity cards and let them go after identifying them as natives of Nalgonda district.

With fake messages of child kidnappers going around in residential areas being circulated on social media platforms, citizens are now doubt every stranger to be a kidnapper. In the wake of these developments, Commissioner of Police Siddipet Dr B Anuradha issued a statement assuring the people that there no such groups were moving in the district.

Medak SP B Bala Swamy and Sangareddy SP Chennuri Rupesh too issued similar statements. Police have suggested that every person carry an identity card with them if they are going to new places and to dial 100 if anyone held them up or questioned them.