DHAKA: Police said eight people were killed in mob attacks in Bangladesh after false rumors about child abductions spread online.
The victims were targeted over rumors that human sacrifices were needed to build the Padma Bridge, south of the capital Dhaka.
Rumors claimed children were being beheaded as offerings to the $3bn (£2.4bn) project.
Vigilante groups in turn lynched people they suspected of kidnappings.
However, none of the victims were involved in child abduction, police chief Javed Patwary told reporters in Dhaka.
Taslima Begum, a single mother of two children aged 11 and four, was among the eight people killed. More than 30 people were reportedly attacked over the rumours.
(Agencies)
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