The GoI needs to act quickly before this too becomes another rumour pandemic, like the Bachcha Chor WhatsApp fuelled rumour that took dozens of innocent lives!
Is Drone Theft scare the new “Bachcha Chor” rumour which caused havoc in last decade? UP is under the grip of fear and mistrust caused by the Drone Chor phenomenon. Villagers across the state suspect that thieves are using modern technology like drones to do aerial surveillance of residential areas before embarking on theft. The result- fear and mistrust has taken on the villages of the state as self-declared vigilante groups of villagers patrol the areas and suspect any outsider of being a drone chor. Till now, two lynchings have already taken place- one in Raebareli where a Dalit youth was beaten to death and one in Hardoi where the victim luckily survived; both were innocent. This reminds us of the Bachcha Chor rumour pandemic of previous decade. A WhatsApp rumour made people believe a gang of interstate child kidnappers is on the loose which kidnaps the children, sells their body parts and eats them. This rumour took the scale of a pandemic as dozens of people across the country were lunched by vigilante groups who considered innocent people to be Bachcha Chor gang. In most cases, the perpetrators themselves filmed the brutal lynchings. It’s high time the government of India comes up with a solid plan to handle this menace, before it goes out of control.