Tamil Nadu Police book BJP leader, 2 journalists over ‘false’ reports of attacks on migrants

In separate complaints, Prashant Umrao, a BJP spokesperson who also works as a standing counsel in the Supreme Court for the Goa government, was booked, along with the Dainik Bhaskar editor, plus a small-time journalist from Bihar called Mohammed Tanvir. A top police officer said three separate teams have been formed for their arrest.

A statement issued by the Tamil Nadu government Saturday said that all north Indian workers in Tamil Nadu were living peacefully in the state.

Chief Minister M K Stalin also issued a statement saying the government and people of the state will “protect our migrant brothers”. “Tamil Nadu has always been the land of hospitality that welcomes everyone… A few who find it hard to digest the peace and harmony prevailing in Tamil Nadu have been attempting to project the government of Tamil Nadu and its people in a poor light. They will not succeed,” he said, adding that he had also spoken to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and assured him that his government would not let anything untoward happen to workers from the state.

BJP state president K Annamalai also rejected claims of attacks. “I am saying this keeping aside all political differences. The Bihar BJP chief called me today asking about reports of attacks against Bihar workers here. I told him there are no such incidents, and asked him who had told him about this. I told him that the Tamil Nadu Police and government are giving the migrant labourers all the necessary protection and safety,” Annamalai said.

With the BJP sensitive about any charges of being a belligerent “outsider” in Tamil Nadu, Annamalai added: “Beyond political differences, let me say that I will not let such reports discredit Tamil people.”

However, the Tamil Nadu police say its preliminary findings indicate that the rapid spread of the “fake” news reports regarding attack on North Indian labourers had definite “political motives” and was linked to the grand birthday celebrations held for Chief Minister M K Stalin on March 1. Several Opposition luminaries, including Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, attended the event, where calls were made for a united front against the BJP.

The alleged claims by the three accused coincided with the birthday celebrations. Umrao, who has a large following on Twitter, allegedly tweeted the day after the rally that 12 Bihar workers had been “hanged to death” in Tamil Nadu for speaking Hindi, and posted it with a photo of Tejashwi with Stalin. The police claim the journalists also spread “rumours” the same day.

All three have been booked under IPC Sections dealing with offences related to promoting enmity and disharmony.

A senior police officer said: “The rumours began a day after the DMK rally. It seems that first a news report regarding this appeared on the Dainik Bhaskar website. It was not published in their print edition but our preliminary probe indicates that it was the trigger. Soon after, Tanvir posted a series of tweets with false stories on attacks by Tamils on North Indian workers, which also included fake news about the murder of 12 people in Tamil Nadu for speaking Hindi. There was panic as the news spread through family WhatsApp groups of migrant workers. Many online and TV news outlets in northern states began airing the story, and the Bihar BJP unit took it up, seemingly in response to Tejashwi’s participation in Stalin’s birthday celebrations.”

As per the officer, “a dozen prominent and verified BJP handles with lakhs of followers have been actively spreading different fake reports on these lines” since the DMK rally was held.

Asked about the posts, Bihar BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said: “Tejashwi went to Chennai by a chartered flight to celebrate TN CM Stalinji’s birthday. We have no issues with it. But why, after eating the cake, did he start speaking in favour of Tamil Nadu and against Bihar and Biharis?”

On Tamil Nadu Police charges against social media posts by several leaders, including those from the BJP, Anand said: “We only want a fair investigation rather than the police trying to dismiss the alleged assaults outright.”

A top BJP leader in Tamil Nadu said Umrao had deleted his tweet, adding: “I don’t think that it was an organised campaign.”

A top government official in Chennai said the delegation from Bihar is holding meetings with the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and DGP.

Another senior official said they were keeping a close eye on the situation. “We are taking all necessary steps to inform the workers from other states about the true situation. Intelligence reports indicate that the goal of the rumours was to cause an exodus. But, aside from the usual trip by workers to their native states for Holi, there is no sign of such a scenario now,” the official said.

The Tamil Nadu Police said at least one video being circulated actually concerned a fight between Bihar and Jharkhand workers in Tamil Nadu. Sources said other videos claiming to show attacks on migrant labourers were of mob fights. Almost all such videos tagged photos of Tejashwi with Stalin.

At least two handles where such videos were posted were “fake”, Tamil Nadu DGP C Sylendra Babu said, warning strict action against those spreading fake news.

The police have shared helpline numbers urging migrant labourers to call if faced with any issues.