Panaji, Sep 28 (IANS): Goa Police on Wednesday dismissed a rumour that children were being lifted from schools, assuring the public that no such incident had taken place.
As the rumour was doing rounds on the social media, triggering panic, locals thrashed a mentally unstable person in the port town of Vasco on suspicions that he was a child lifter.
However, the police later clarified that the man was not a child lifter and that he was hospitalised after the incident.
Vasco police told IANS that the man had been admitted to the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB).
Dismissing the rumour, Goa DGP Jaspal Singh tweeted: "Some schools are issuing advisories on the basis of incidents of attempted kidnappings. It is clarified that no such incidents have been reported and there is no such trend. While it is important to take precaution, we advise all to not believe in rumours as they might cause panic."