Three persons were beaten up in two areas in Barasat on Wednesday after rumours started spreading that a group of men and women was abducting boys and girls, police said.

A woman and a man, who were trying to board an autorickshaw near the Kamakhya Pith Seba Sansad, were beaten up by a group who suspected them of being members of the rumoured gang, a senior officer of the Barasat police district said.

Another man was beaten up by a separate group of men and women in Mollahpara after residents and passers-by suspected him to be a child abductor as well.

Police teams that had gone to their rescue were also attacked and their vehicle was damaged.

Later, a large police force went to both spots. They managed to disperse the mob gathered in both places.

The three who were beaten up were taken to the Barasat Government Medical College and Hospital where they are undergoing treatment.

A doctor who examined them said all three were admitted to the critical care unit and are responding to treatment.

Pratiksha Jharkhariya, the superintendent of police Barasat, said that rumours were being spread through several groups on a social media website that a child traffickers’ gang was active in Barasat.

“We have arrested 16 persons. We are tracking several others who are involved.
We will question the administrators of the groups where the rumours were circulating. There have been no instances of kidnapping. People should stop believing these rumours,” said Jharkhariya.

Another senior police officer in Barasat said that the rumours had started circulating after the body of a Class V student was recovered from a dilapidated toilet in Kazripara on Thursday.

The child had stepped out of his home last Sunday and had gone missing till his body was recovered by the police on Thursday.

The child’s uncle, Enger Nabi, has been arrested on murder charges and is now in police custody, the officer said.