On May 18, four Muslim men were beaten to death in Jharkhand, India, in front of a massive crowd because a WhatsApp forward indicated that they were child traffickers.
A WhatsApp message claimed nine lives in Jharkhand in a week https://t.co/d8pTpQ8tGD @vijay_murty reports
The Hindustan Times reported that the local authorities couldn't track down the origin of the message, nor could they substantiate the authenticity of the claim.
The WhatsApp rumour has resulted in multiple lynchings in the area.
The message read: "Suspected child lifters are carrying sedatives, injections, spray, cotton and small towels. They speak Hindi, Bangla and Malyali. If you happen to see any stranger near your house immediately inform local police as he could be a member of the child lifting gang."
People soon started sharing disturbing photos and videos of the incident on social media.
And the most striking one was taken by HT photographer Manoj Kumar.
Hands folded, blood-soaked body: Pictures of man begging for life capture brutality of Jharkhand lynching… https://t.co/oT9EqKf9yl
The photo is of father of three Mohammed Naeem, bloodied and pleading with the crowd for his life, moments before he was killed.
Did you look away? Did you look & argue What, If & But? Did you look & not feel sick in your stomach? There is NO o… https://t.co/iaYiC6fcHI
People have been moved by the unnerving photo.
Thousands have shared the photo, condemning the increasing lawlessness and violence toward minorities in India.
HT reported that Naeem was the last of the four men to die, and that the police were on site before that.
Jharkhand, Rajasthan & U.P -lynchmobs & street justice are the new normal. Constitution-Trampled! Law-Dead! Humanit… https://t.co/uRoxl1rHRC
Naeem's family was presented with a compensation of ₹2 lakh, but has declined the offer, asking the chief minister meet with them and promise justice be served.
In the last three years, there have been multiple reports of Muslim men being killed by mobs after being accused of crimes, often in the presence of police. In 2015, a man and his son in Dadri were fatally beaten for allegedly eating beef on Eid – the allegations were later proven to be false. In 2016, two Muslim youths were beaten to death in mob violence in Manipur. Just earlier this month, a 60-year-old man was beaten to death in Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly helping a young Hindu-Muslim couple elope.
People have also drawn parallels between Naeem's photo and one of Gujarat tailor Qutubuddin Ansari pleading for his life during the Gujarat riots in 2002.
