Lucknow: Eighty-two people have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh for spreading rumours of child theft, Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh on Wednesday as he appealed to the public not to believe such canards and take law into their hands. In a video tweeted by the UP Police, he said that anti-social elements were spreading rumours about child theft in different parts of the state which had led to incidents of violence.

"In the probe into the incidents of violence, there is no angle of child theft. My appeal to you is that do not believe in rumours or take law in your hands and be a partner in the violence," Singh said. "If you come to know about any such incident, then immediately inform on 100. So far 82 people have been arrested in the state for spreading rumours about child theft and subsequently spreading violence. They will be booked under the National Security Act (NSA)," he said.

The DGP also said that rumour-mongers will be identified and stringent action initiated against them. The DGP's message came in the wake of a 50-year-old woman being brutally thrashed in Etah district on suspicion that she is a child lifter. Police arrested four people in the matter and was on the lookout for two women.

A purported video of the incident went viral on social media in which men and women could be seen thrashing the victim, Beena Devi who is a resident of Himachal Pradesh, accusing her of abducting children.

The incident took place on Sunday following rumours that a child lifter had entered the town and abducted many children.