'Whatsapp lynchings' are common in India

Before the incident, rumours were spreading around the area that children were being kidnapped in the night.^[1] These rumours were largely spread via WhatsApp. Lynchings occurring due to rumours spread on WhatsApp is not new in India. There have been many other prominent lynchings in recent years. Prominent examples include a 2,000 person mob murdering a software engineer who was offering chocolate to local children, believing him to be a child kidnapper,^[2] and five men killed in a nomadic community by a crowd of thousands because they were seen talking to a six-year-old.^[3] The police have nothing to do with the lynching. It is, sadly, a not unusual incident.