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Tamil Nadu Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu Thursday clarified that the videos circulating on social media showing alleged attacks on migrant labourers in the state were “false” and “mischievous”. His clarification came in the wake of a tweet by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who took note of media reports on the videos and directed the state chief secretary and DGP to speak to officials in the Tamil Nadu government and ensure the safety of Bihar labourers.
“Somebody in Bihar has posted a false and mischievous video saying that the migrant workers of Bihar are attacked in Tamil Nadu. Two videos are posted and both are false videos. These two incidents happened earlier in Tiruppur and Coimbatore. In both cases, the clash was not between Tamil Nadu people and migrant workers. One was a clash between two groups of Bihar migrant workers and another video was a clash between two local residents of Coimbatore,” DGP Babu said.
The Tamil Nadu Police, meanwhile, warned that strict action would be initiated against those sharing fake videos on social media.
Nitish Thursday had tweeted, “I have come to know through newspapers about attacks on laborers from Bihar working in Tamil Nadu. I have directed the chief secretary and director general of police of Bihar to talk to the officials of the Tamil Nadu government and ensure the safety of laborers from Bihar living there.”
After the Tamil Nadu DGP’s clarification, the Bihar police reiterated that the videos were fake.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav took to Twitter last night as well to say, “DGP Tamilnadu is categorically stating that it is completely baseless and rumour mongering that migrant workers of Bihar are being targeted in Tamil Nadu. Old video of violence is mischievously being spread stating people of Bihar are no longer safe in Tamil Nadu, creating panic.”
Under these circumstances, the Tiruppur Police in Tamil Nadu Thursday said they had a set up a separate cell to help migrant labourers stay aware of the fake videos shared on social media. Speaking to IndianExpress.com, Tiruppur Superintendent of Police G Shasank Sai said the police had set up a separate cell under the supervision of a Special Branch Inspector for migrant workers and provided helpline numbers to address their grievances. The cell which comprises a sub-inspector and four constables will work round the clock, he added.
“We started a campaign about a year ago where police officials visited the companies of migrant workers and raised awareness on several aspects. Officials told them to report to us if they were subjected to abuse or had complaints. Now, we are focusing on running a targeted campaign. We inform the workers about the origin of these fake videos and ask them to stay aware and not believe everything on social media. The workers understand our initiative as it has been conveyed to them in their native language through translators in their companies. We have set up helplines (9498101320/04212970017) for workers to reach out to us in case of any complaints. So far, we have received 35 calls from the workers over videos and other issues, and we have been addressing their grievances,” the SP said.
Notably, in February, a video of a Tamil speaking man hitting the labourer for allegedly depriving locals job opportunities was shared widely on social media. The police later identified the accused as P Magimaidass, a native of Villupuram who was wanted in a criminal case.
V Vanitha, ADGP Railways, noted that they were cautious that the incident shouldn’t pave way for untoward mob actions.
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