Governor Ravi urges North Indian workers in TN not to panic

CHENNAI: In a bid to allay the fear of migrant labourers, working in Tamil Nadu, triggered after several "fake" videos of attacks on them surfaced on social media, Governor RN Ravi on Sunday said that North Indian workers need not panic as the State government is committed to providing them security. "The North Indian labourers in Tamil Nadu not to panic and feel insecure, as the people of Tamil Nadu are very nice and friendly, and the state government is committed to providing them security," Governor RN Ravi said.

The Governor's statement came in the wake of statewide panic, triggered after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday, raised concerns and took note of the purported videos of "attacks" on Bihar-based workers. Kumar directed the state's chief secretary and DGP to speak to officials in the Tamil Nadu government and ensure the safety of labourers from his state.

The panic affected the industries in Tamil Nadu, which rely on migrant workers, badly as many workers stayed off work. Taking cognizance of the panic, Tamil Nadu's Director General of Police Sylendra Babu released a statement, saying that the video doing rounds of social media was "false" and "mischievous".

"Somebody in Bihar posted false and mischievous videos saying that migrant workers were attacked in Tamil Nadu. Two videos were posted. Both are false as these incidents happened at an earlier date in Tiruppur and Coimbatore. One was a clash between two groups of migrant workers from Bihar while another was from a clash between two local residents in Coimbatore," the top cop said. The police also said that the persons behind this rumour-driven panic will not be spared.

"We won't leave anybody for spreading fake news", DGP Sylendra Babu told ANI. In response to the incident, Tamil Nadu police have booked four persons in different districts of the southern state.

As per Tamil Nadu's DGP, a case under 153(A), 505(i)(b) sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the Dainik Bhaskar Editor in Tiruppur North Police Station, and a case under several sections against Prashant Umrao [BJP spokesperson] have been registered at Tuticorin Central Police Station. "Apart from this, Mohammed Tanvir, owner of the Twitter handle 'Tanvir Post', and another Shubam Sukhla have also been booked in the case," a statement from DGP added.

According to Police Officials, "as a part of the investigation, Tamil Nadu Police teams have also been left for Delhi and Bihar from respective Police Stations, where cases have been registered." DGP has also ordered to constitute a special team to arrest the booked persons, currently absconding.