In an yet another horrific incident of mob killing, a 32-year-old software engineer was lynched while four others were severely injured — including a Qatar national — on Friday after rumours of child kidnapping surfaced on WhatsApp in Karnataka’s Bidar.
The software engineer, Mohammad Azam, who was working with Google went on a long drive on Friday with his four friends. When they stopped at the roadside, Azam’s friend Mohammad Salam was distributing chocolates among the local children, which made some villagers suspicious, and rumours of child lifting soon spread through a WhatsApp group.
A large crowd from nearby villages got into an argument with Azam and his friends. Panicking at the presence of large crowd, they got into the car and tried to escape. Some villagers chased them on motorcycles and after sometime, Azam lost control of his car and fell into a culvert, crashing with a motorcycle.
Dragging them out of the car, the crowd beat them up brutally, as many villagers stood watching. Police reached the spot and took them to hospital. Azam was declared dead and the others were being treated for injuries. One of the injured is fighting for life.
Police has so far nabbed 32 persons including the administrator of the WhatsApp group. Investigation is on to track down others who may have been involved.
