Malappuram district child protection unit scotches kidnap rumours

Kozhikode: Malappuram district child protection unit (DCPU) has issued a circular against the spread of fake news of child kidnappings through social media. “No such incidents have taken place. We probed eight such cases but found that all were fictitious,” said District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Samir Machingal. The effect of the “cooked-up” news was that people waylaid an Omni van and handed it over to Kottakkal police as what was flashed that the gang of kidnappers has been travelling in an Omni van.

According to DCPO, over anxious parents paved the way for children suspecting silly incidents as kidnap attempts. “Even a minor issue is made known to the father of the child who is probably abroad. The umpteen times the news got forwarded and the wrong interpretation in Whatsapp made it worse resulting in giving palpitations to the father. So, he rang home and alerted the kid. An over conscious kid even frowns at a stranger asking any genuine information,” says Mr Machingal.

In some cases, children also let their imagination run wild to escape the consequences of coming late or some prank they did. In Tirur, a good gesture by a man preventing a child from crossing the road in front of a parked vehicle was interpreted as a kidnapping incident in social media. In another fake information that was disseminated, it was said that the kidnapped child’s head was being shaved to dupe police. Following the widespread panic, a meeting of the district child protection committee held on November 24 has designated the DCPU to probe the issue.