Binjharpur: Rumours of child thefts on WhatsApp and other social media sites have spread panic among residents here in Jajpur district. Amid the rumours, locals have formed groups to check on the movements of unidentified non-Odia youths in their villages. They detain anyone who is found roaming around mysteriously and hand them over to police.
The rumours come in the wake of lynching of seven persons in Jharkhand for alleged child lifting.
According to locals, around four to five non-Odia youths have been wandering around in Raipur, Bhanra, Mohammad Jamalpur, Chatisdebil, Bariala and Sasan area of Jajpur district. Locals believe them to be child lifters and kept a close watch on their movements.
The locals said, the youths act as mentally-challenged persons and wander around in the area. They are often found in graveyards and burial grounds. Since most of them are non-Odias, locals suspect them to be child kidnappers.
The locals claimed the members of the child lifting gang are part of huge kidney and eyes racket. After kidnapping, they extract eyes and kidneys of the children and later dumped their bodies. The kidneys and eyes are then sold at a premium in different parts of the country, locals believed. So, they protect their children and keep them indoors.
Amid the rumours, locals Saturday detained a youth and thrashed him after he was found roaming around aimlessly in the area. They beat him up and tried to extract information from him. However, he did not even speak a word.
After getting the information, police reached the village and rescued the youth. He was taken to the local police station for interrogation.