4-member probe team to visit TN: Bihar CM on 'attack' on migrant labourers

Amid pressure from Opposition over alleged attacks in Tamil Nadu of migrant workers from Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that a four-member team will visit the southern State to take stock of the situation.

"As soon as I got to know though newspapers, I directed officials to look into the matter. They talked with the Tamil Nadu government and reported that a team should be sent from here," Nitish Kumar said, adding that the four-member team will look into the matter in detail.

The four-member team includes D Balamurugan, Secretary, Rural Development, P Kanan, IPS (IG CID), Shree Alok, Special Secretary, Labour Department and an IPS officer will submit a report to the Bihar chief minister after their visit.

Kumar on Thursday, raised concerns after a purported video of "attacks" on Bihar-based migrant labourers, working in Tamil Nadu surfaced on social media.

Tamil Nadu DGP Sylendr Babu stated, "Somebody in Bihar posted false and mischievous videos saying that migrant workers are attacked in Tamil Nadu. Two videos are posted and both are false, these two incidents happened earlier in Tiruppur and Coimbatore. Both cases were not a clash between the people of Tamil Nadu 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," the top cop said.

The Tamil Nadu Police also warned that strict action would be initiated against those sharing fake videos on social media.

After the Tamil Nadu DGP's clarification, the Bihar police on Friday said that the videos circulating on social media were "misleading."

"Bihar DGP has spoken to Tamil Nadu DGP. Other senior officers of the Bihar Police are in touch with senior officials of the Tamil Nadu Police. The Tamil Nadu Police has said that the said videos are fake and misleading," Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Patna, JS Gangwar told ANI. Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare Minister CV in a statement yesterday said that workers not only from North India but from all States were working "peacefully and efficiently without any fear."

Industrialists also sought to allay fears after some of the workers were taken in by the rumours and wanted to leave for their native place.K Baskaran secretary of the Kakkalur Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association (KIEMA) said that these rumours are affecting MSME industries in the State.

The statement by the KIEMA secretary came after many workers at the Kakkalur Industrial Estate near Chennai began leaving for their hometowns.

Speaking to ANI over phone, KIEMA secretary Baskaran said since the fake news has spread, all migrant labourers are in panic and they keep on receiving calls from their hometowns, asking them to return. He said that this is affecting the small industries in the State badly.

Baskaran also said that no such incident happened in Tamil Nadu anywhere and all migrant labourers are safe and the association would stand with them at any time.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)