The Tamil Nadu police booked Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, a Twitter handle named Tanveer Post, and BJP spokesperson Prashant Patel Umrao under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for disinformation and claiming that migrant workers have been fatally attacked in Tamil Nadu.
Tiruppur North police station booked an editor of Dainik Bhaskar daily under sections 153(A) (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505(i)(b) (intent to cause fear or alarm to the public) of the IPC. Meanwhile, Tiruppur cyber crime police booked Mohammed Tanveer under the same sections along with Information Technology Act 56(D).
The newspaper – based on a phone call with a Bihari man in Tamil Nadu – claimed that 15 Biharis had received life threats. A video story accompanying the report showed visuals of altercations between two groups of men. The report stated that nearly 15 Biharis were killed in Tamil Nadu and that people from Bihar were being attacked solely for speaking in Hindi. It also said that Biharis in Tamil Nadu were facing “Talibani” style attacks in Tamil Nadu.
Thoothukudi Central police booked a case against BJP spokesperson Prashant Patel Umrao for spreading wrong information, under IPC sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A, 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) on Saturday, March 4.
Umrao was booked for his claim that there had been attacks against Hindi-speaking migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. On March 2, Umrao stated that 15 people were hanged inside a room for speaking Hindi in Tamil Nadu and 12 among them were dead. His tweet received an immense response with more than 14,000 likes and nearly 6,000 reshares. His tweet is one among the many viral videos, WhatsApp forwards, and fake news that carried the false claim of rampant attacks against migrant workers in Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil Nadu police said a special team had been formed to arrest those spreading disinformation. "Police are collecting information about those who spread false information to disturb the peace of the state and will take stern action against them," the statement noted.
To assuage migrant workers, Tamil Nadu police issued helpline numbers for those who need assistance from the department. They can reach Tamil Nadu police via 0421 - 2203313, 9498101300, and 9498101320.
The videos and news started going viral after an incident in which an individual can be seen verbally and physically assaulting Hindi-speaking migrant labourers in a train compartment. In the video, an individual can be seen talking about Tamil Nadu natives losing job opportunities due to migration. The Government Railway Police (GRP) traced the accused, identified as Magimaidas (38), from Villupuram, and arrested him, reported The Hindu. Following this, around five unrelated videos of violence were circulated on social media and on several mainstream news organisations claiming they were from Tamil Nadu. Read a story debunking these videos here.
The case against the BJP spokesperson and Dainik Bhaskar came after Tamil Nadu Director General of Police Sylendra Babu held a discussion with his counterpart in Bihar and assured no such incidents had occurred in the state. “Videos of some old personal disputes were shot, and it was published saying that it was against the Bihar natives. Tamil Nadu police are taking stern action and providing protection to Bihar natives in Tamil Nadu,” JS Gangwar, Bihar’s Additional Director General of Police, said in Patna.
Earlier this week, Sylendra Babu issued a statement clarifying that Bihari migrant workers were not being attacked in Tamil Nadu. His statement came hours after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that he learnt from media reports that migrant workers from his state were being attacked in Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister was seemingly referring to a report in the Dainik Bhaskar, which alleged that Biharis in Tamil Nadu were facing “Talibani” style attacks.
Refuting the claims of attacks against migrant workers, the Labour Welfare and Skill Development Department issued a statement on March 3. “There is no threat to any northern workers in Tamil Nadu. They are making outstanding contributions,” the statement by Minister CV Ganesan read.