Fear Of Child Kidnapping Triggers Violence Across Jharkhand

The fear of child kidnapping in Ranchi and across Jharkhand has taken a dangerous turn. On 16 February, in Piparwar area of Chatra district, a man was beaten to death by a mob on suspicion of being a child kidnapper. In Chiraiyatand under Piparwar police station limits, villagers brutally assaulted Ramwali Rajwar, a resident of Barkatoli in Ramgarh, suspecting him of child theft. He later died during treatment at RIMS.

It was later found that he was mentally unstable and was on his way to Khalari. Station in-charge Abhay Kumar described the incident as mob lynching and said that legal action would be taken against those responsible after the RIMS medical report. Earlier, in the Kalyanpur rehabilitation colony in the same area, villagers had caught a mentally unstable woman on suspicion of child theft and handed her over to the police.

On 19 January, in Edalhatu area of Ranchi, a mob severely beat up three people, including a woman, over suspicion of child kidnapping. The police reached the spot, rescued them and took them to the police station. After investigation, they were released. The incident happened when a three-year-old child, who was playing near a Shiva temple, sat inside an e-rickshaw. When the child’s father saw him in the vehicle, people misunderstood the situation and caught hold of the woman and the driver. CCTV footage later showed that the child had climbed into the rickshaw on his own, and the woman had made him sit between them to prevent him from falling.

These incidents show how suspicion and rumours of child theft are pushing people towards violence and increasing the tendency to take the law into their own hands. In the past week alone, rumours about child kidnapping have spread rapidly across Jharkhand. Within just five days, 12 incidents of mob violence linked to such rumours have been reported.

The situation has become a serious law-and-order challenge. In recent days, attacks based on rumours have been reported from Ranchi, Bokaro, Chatra, Giridih and Dhanbad.

On 13 February 2026, in Bishunpur of Bokaro, a woman was targeted by a mob on suspicion of child theft. In Bansidih area of Chas, five sadhus were also attacked on similar suspicion. On 14 February, the Bokaro administration identified more than 300 social media accounts allegedly spreading rumours about child kidnapping, which led to several mob attacks.

Bokaro Deputy Commissioner Ajay Nath Jha said that misleading messages and videos were circulated in a planned manner to create fear, and legal action is being taken against those responsible. He appealed to people to verify any suspicious information and immediately inform the police through the toll-free number 112 if needed. Bokaro SP Harvinder Singh also urged people not to believe rumours or take the law into their own hands.

The recent disappearance of siblings Ansh and Anshika from Dhurwa in Ranchi has deepened fear across Jharkhand about child kidnapping and trafficking. During the 12-day-long police investigation, a new pattern of traffickers targeting innocent children came to light. The gang was reportedly referred to as the “Gulgulia gang,” with possible links to Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.

Following this case, police and CID began investigating multiple angles, including child trafficking. The disappearance of the children created widespread panic across the state. Since then, incidents of mob violence over suspicion of child theft have continued to surface.

Senior journalist Akhilesh Singh, who has covered crime in Jharkhand for many years, says that similar rumours had spread during the Raghubar Das regime (2014–2019). At that time, too, rumours led to more than half a dozen deaths in Jamshedpur and Seraikela-Kharsawan.

Speaking about the current situation, Akhilesh Singh says, “For the past two months, news related to children has remained at the centre in Jharkhand. After the Ansh and Anshika incident, police operations against traffickers led to the recovery of several children at once. That has reinforced the fear of child kidnapping in people’s minds. Many are still in that state of fear. So any such news immediately makes people violent.” According to media reports, after Ansh and Anshika were rescued, around 60 children were recovered by the police.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo expressed concern over rising cases of child kidnapping, missing children and human trafficking in the state. He said that data from 2020 to 2025 shows that child safety mechanisms in the state have collapsed.

He claimed, “On average, 500 to 700 children go missing in Jharkhand every year, and many of them have still not been traced. According to 2022 data, 122 minors went missing from Tatanagar (Jamshedpur region), 52 from Gumla, 36 from Lohardaga, 39 from Chaibasa, 29 from Ranchi and 46 from Palamu.”

He further stated that according to government figures, 236 children became victims of human trafficking in 2024. He alleged that thousands of children are still missing and the police have failed to trace them, most of whom belong to Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.

The BJP spokesperson said, “Every family in the state is living in fear because of child kidnapping and human trafficking,” and accused the Hemant government of complete failure.