TimesView There is no use panicking, especially when there does not seem to be any problem on the ground. Users should be conscious of the nuisance value of unverified forwards on social media. KOLKATA: Even as the child-lifting rumours continued to spread and two more persons were attacked by mobs in the heart of the city on Sunday night, Lalbazar issued strict orders to all the 70 police stations in the city asking them to launch a special vigilance and round up anyone spreading fal sehoods.Earlier, chief minister Mamata Banerjee spoke extensively about “evoking fear” by spreading “bogus child-lifting scare”. The CM mentioned a similar incident that took place at Behala on Sunday.According to the police, the first incident took place on Tollygunge’s Sridhar Lane close to Pratapaditya Road around 9.15pm on Sunday. A 22-year-old woman was attacked by a mob after it was alleged that she had tried to kidnap a child. She was rescued by police. “When we began the probe, we put the woman from Karaya under arrest. We are checking her credentials. Some of the claims made against her seem a bit far-fetched,” said an investigator.Cops from the Tollygunge police stations have started distributing the contact numbers of senior cops and making special deployments at slums. A similar effort has been made by the Kasba police, where three such mob attacks took place between Friday night and Saturday morning. “We have printed 2,000 pamphlets with dos and don’ts,” said an officer.Police stations bordering South 24 Parganas — where fake WhatsApp messages about alleged kidnappings are being forwarded the most — have been put on the highest alert after another incident of mob attack in the Chowbhaga area of Anandapur around 10pm on Sunday. “Three men were attacked when they were returning home. They were beaten up by locals before our patrol vehicles managed to spot and rescue them. Nothing suspicious about them was found,” said a police officer.ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma said, “Anyone who gets to know about any incident or knows someone who is spreading rumours can directly call up our control room and police stations.” A senior officer at Lalbazar said, “We have hired autos, which are going around specific areas — closer to slums — telling people not to fall prey to traps. ”

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