Google Engineer Lynched Over Child-Lifting Rumours in Bidar
BIDAR : A 32-year-old software engineer was beaten to death and three others - one of them a Qatar national -- were seriously injured over WhatsApp-driven rumours of child kidnapping in Karnataka's Bidar. The police said the mob frenzy started after the man from Qatar was seen distributing chocolates to local children. The police have arrested 32 people.
The techie, Mohammad Azam, had gone for a drive on Friday with three others when they were stopped at the roadside. Mr Azam's friend Mohammad Salam, who was from Qatar, was seen handing chocolates to children.
Rumours of child lifting were doing the rounds in the area and seeing the chocolates being handed out, residents of a nearby village, Murki, sent messages on a WhatsApp group.
Soon, a large crowd gathered and started an argument and taking videos. Panicking, the men got into their car and drove away. Some of the villagers chased them on motorcycles, said the police. Some way off, the speeding car hit one of the motorcycles and fell into a culvert.
As the crowd caught up, the men were dragged out of the car and brutally beaten up, said eye witnesses. Hundreds of villagers gathered but none came to their rescue. By the time the police arrived, Mohammad Azam had died. The others were taken to the hospital in Hyderabad.
"They had gone out for a drive. My brother gave chocolates to children. We don't know what their parents thought but several villagers gathered and beat them. How can they think they were kidnappers?" said Mohammad Azam's brother Akram. Appealing to the government to stop mob killings, Akram said, "My brother was a software engineer, father of a 2-year-old. He was just a regular guy".
The other three - cousins and friends of Mr Azam -- were badly injured. One of them is fighting for his life at a local hospital.
Among the 32 arrested for the killing, one is the administrator of the WhatsApp group. There were also women among those arrested, sources said.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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J&K polls: Amit Shah arrives in Jammu ahead of Saturday's hectic campaigning
Jammu (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Jammu on Friday night ahead of the hectic day-long campaigning on Saturday during which he will address five public rallies in three districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah arrived here from Delhi and drove straight to the State Guest house, a senior BJP leader said.
Shah will fly to Poonch early tomorrow morning and address the first of four rallies in Mendhar followed by Surankote in Poonch district, he added.
Shah is scheduled to address rallies in Thanamandi and Rajouri followed by Akhnoor in Jammu.
He is also expected to hold a rally in the Nowshera constituency in support of Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina on Sunday.
