NEW DELHI: Indian police said Monday they had arrested nearly two dozen people on charges including murder and rioting after a wave of lynchings in an eastern state that left eight dead.
Mobs in the largely tribal Jharkhand state set upon victims with sticks and fists over two days of violence as rumors spread on social media that a gang was kidnapping children, police said.
The brutality of the murders — captured potently in one viral image showing a bloodied man on his hands and knees begging for his life — has sparked outrage and allegations of police negligence.
Jharkhand has been on edge since the lynchings, just the latest in recent months across India, where mobs have publicly murdered people for inter-faith marriages and alleged offenses involving sacred cows.
Prashant Anand, police superintendent in the state’s main city of Jamshedpur, said locals in two neighboring districts attacked “any outsider irrespective of his community” after baseless rumors spread on WhatsApp and social media.
“We have so far arrested 20 people, five for lynching and 15 others for rioting or clashing with the authorities,” he told AFP.
Distraught relatives of the victims have clashed with authorities since the attacks last week, demanding a speedy investigation into the murders.
Local authorities have launched a public awareness campaign, distributing flyers to dispel rumors about the child kidnapping racket.
Police have been criticized for not responding quickly to dispel the misinformation, or to assure villagers about the safety of their children as fear took hold.
The National Human Rights Commission, India’s main rights watchdog, Monday said Jharkhand law enforcement agencies had failed to perform their duty.
“A civilized society cannot allow such heinous crimes to occur where human lives are taken by angry mob merely on suspicion of them being anti-social elements,” it said.
Child trafficking is a major problem in India, particularly in rural areas. Victims are sold off to work in factories or as beggars and prostitutes.
India’s indigenous tribes often suffer the worst rates of poverty, malnutrition, education and life expectancy.
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Indian police make arrests after mobs lynch eight
Indian police make arrests after mobs lynch eight
Canada plans to assist Cuba while Washington squeezes the island
Canada said on Monday it plans to provide assistance to Cuba while the island grapples with fuel shortages after Washington moved to choke off Cuba’s oil supplies.
Washington has escalated a pressure campaign against the Communist-run island and long-time US foe in recent weeks.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has moved to block all oil from reaching Cuba, including that from ally Venezuela, pushing up prices for food and transportation and prompting severe fuel shortages and hours of blackouts.
“We are preparing a plan to assist. We are not prepared at this point to provide any further details of an announcement,” Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Monday, without giving details on what such an assistance will include.
The UN has warned that if Cuba’s energy needs are not met, it could cause a humanitarian crisis. Canada said last week it was monitoring the situation in Cuba and was concerned about “the increasing risk of a humanitarian crisis” there.
Emboldened by the US military’s seizure of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a deadly raid in January, Trump has repeatedly talked of acting against Cuba and pressuring its leadership.
Washington and Ottawa have also had tensions under Trump over issues like trade tariffs, Trump’s rhetoric toward Greenland, Ottawa’s attempt to warm ties with Beijing and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarks that “middle powers” should act together to avoid being victimized by US hegemony.
Trump has said “Cuba will be failing pretty soon,” adding that Venezuela, once the island’s top supplier, has not recently sent oil or money to Cuba.
The UN human rights office has said the US raid in which Maduro was seized was a violation of international law. Human rights experts cast Trump’s foreign policy and his focus on exploiting Venezuelan oil and squeezing Cuba as echoing an imperialist approach.
Washington has escalated a pressure campaign against the Communist-run island and long-time US foe in recent weeks.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has moved to block all oil from reaching Cuba, including that from ally Venezuela, pushing up prices for food and transportation and prompting severe fuel shortages and hours of blackouts.
“We are preparing a plan to assist. We are not prepared at this point to provide any further details of an announcement,” Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Monday, without giving details on what such an assistance will include.
The UN has warned that if Cuba’s energy needs are not met, it could cause a humanitarian crisis. Canada said last week it was monitoring the situation in Cuba and was concerned about “the increasing risk of a humanitarian crisis” there.
Emboldened by the US military’s seizure of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a deadly raid in January, Trump has repeatedly talked of acting against Cuba and pressuring its leadership.
Washington and Ottawa have also had tensions under Trump over issues like trade tariffs, Trump’s rhetoric toward Greenland, Ottawa’s attempt to warm ties with Beijing and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarks that “middle powers” should act together to avoid being victimized by US hegemony.
Trump has said “Cuba will be failing pretty soon,” adding that Venezuela, once the island’s top supplier, has not recently sent oil or money to Cuba.
The UN human rights office has said the US raid in which Maduro was seized was a violation of international law. Human rights experts cast Trump’s foreign policy and his focus on exploiting Venezuelan oil and squeezing Cuba as echoing an imperialist approach.
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