Concerned over a string of lynching incidents in Maharashtra, the police have decided to launch a campaign to check the spread of rumours on social media and come up with new ways to deal with the menace. The move comes days after five people were killed in North Maharashtra's Dhule district over child-lifting rumours on social media.

As part of the campaign, the police will devise models to focus on sensitising people about fake videos, messages, and posts whose authenticity is in doubt and can cause social unrest, Maharashtra's Director General of Police Datta Padsalgikar told PTI in an interview.