Why mob lynching has become a nationwide debate?

New Delhi, July 25: As incident after incident of mob lynching continues to happen - provoked by reasons ranging from caste atrocities, beef consumption and cow trade, inter-faith marriages, and petty crimes - medieval mob justice has slowly become as much a reality of India.

'Fake rumours' on social media has turned deadly

A spate of mob lynchings has claimed over 20 lives in Maharashtra, Tripura, Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka since March. In most of the cases, the mobs seem to have been incited byWhatsApp videos and messages asking people to beware of child kidnappers.

45 people killed across nine states

As per the Ministry of Home Affairs data, 45 people were killed in 40 different cases across nine states between 2014 and 3 March, 2018.

WhatsApp limits message forwarding after mob killings

WhatsApp has now announced restrictions the ability of users in India to forward content, as the latest attempt to curb mob violence sparked by rumours spread through the hugely popular app. In India, the limit on forwarding is five chats at once. For WhatsApp users outside India, the limit on forwarding will be 20.