Chennai: After an opposition BJP legislator in the Bihar Assembly kicked up a row on Thursday, alleging that Bihari labourers in Tamil Nadu were being attacked, the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu put out a video message dispelling rumours about such attacks.
In an unusual step to counter the misinformation campaign, the Tamil Nadu Police from its official Twitter handle tweeted in Hindi clarifying that there are no targeted attacks against those speaking Hindi in the State. In Tamil Nadu, Hindi is never used in official communications and the State follows a two-language formula – Tamil and English.
In the tweet, the Tamil Nadu DGP said, “Rumours are being spread on Social Media and other media platforms that North Indians & Hindi-speaking people are being assaulted in Tamil Nadu. The contents are posted without verifying the facts. Please don’t believe or spread such rumours. One video being circulated is actually an incident involving a fight between Bihar and Jharkhand workers in Tamil Nadu, while another video is connected to an incident involving local residents of Coimbatore. Tamil Nadu is a very peaceful and safe state where public order is being enforced effectively to ensure the safety of every citizen. The contents of the tweet is false and misleading.”
Fake claims and misinformation
The police also told the Twitter user Tanvir not to spread false information “failing which legal action will be taken.”
Earlier on Wednesday, a Twitter user Mohammed Tanvir, had tweeted in Hindi, along with a couple of videos claiming there were targeted attacks on Hindi-speaking people in Tamil Nadu.
The reality, however, was different.
In one of the videos, members of a gang from Tamil Nadu were seen killing a man, who was also a Tamil. In another video, a man stabbed another to death, however, both the attacker and the victim were north Indians.
The tweet from Tamil Nadu police also tagged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar just to assure him that people of Bihar are safe in Tamil Nadu.
Recently, a passenger was seen abusing and beating up some migrant labourers, who were speaking in Hindi, on board a train in Tamil Nadu. The Government Railway Police had arrested a man in this connection.
