Fake news: Bihar delegation to Tamil Nadu quashes rumours of attacks on migrants

A Bihar government delegation visiting Tamil Nadu has confirmed that viral videos claiming Bihari migrants were being targeted in the southern state were fake and there was a deliberate attempt to spread enmity. The videos had caused panic among Hindi-speaking migrant workers for weeks, with some even leaving Tamil Nadu fearing attacks.

The social media messages, which had been circulating on platforms such as WhatsApp, claimed that Bihari labourers were being attacked in the state. However, officials in Tamil Nadu, including fact-checkers, the police, and other state officials, had previously made it clear that the incidents either did not take place in the state or were unrelated entirely.

Bihar officials confirm about news being fake

Speaking to news agency ANI, Balamurugan D, Secretary of Rural Development Department in Bihar, who was leading the delegation, said, "Few videos circulated through WhatsApp & other social media platforms with a message that these incidents (alleged attacks) happened with Bihari labourers - that news is fake. That has been confirmed, verified."

The delegation comprised of the Inspector General, Crime Investigation Department, P Kannan, Special Secretary of Labour Resources, and Superintendent of Police of Special Task Force, Santosh Kumar.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had tried to corner the Nitish Kumar-led coalition government in Bihar over the issue. After the party raised the issue in the Bihar assembly and built pressure on the Chief Minister, the delegation was sent to Tamil Nadu. However, officials had already made it clear that the videos were fake, and several BJP leaders were sharing old or unrelated videos claiming attacks on migrant workers.

CM Stalin condemned the fake news incident

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin condemned the rumours on March 4, saying that the workers were safe in the state. Tamil Nadu police have also taken action against those sharing the fake videos, arresting BJP’s Uttar Pradesh spokesperson Prashant Patel Umrao and filing cases against journalist Mohammed Tanveer and Twitter user Shubham Shukla for posting false information.