BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya on Monday slammed the media for allegedly sharing misinformation about "disinfectants" being sprayed on the migrant workers who arrived in Uttar Pradesh amidst the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 34,807 lives globally and infected 735,145 people so far.
A journalist shared the video which was reportedly shot in Bareilly district. In the video, the group of migrants who returned to UP were allegedly sprayed "disinfectants". While doing so, the migrants were asked to shut their eyes. The journalist wrote, "Who r u trying to kill, Corona or humans? Migrant labourers and their families were forced to take bath in chemical solution upon their entry in Bareilly."
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However, a district official told NDTV that the migrants were in fact sprayed with chlorine and water. He added that it was important to sanitise everyone.
He said, "The migrants were sprayed with a mix of chlorine and water... No chemical solution was used. We asked them to keep their eyes shut."
"We did not mean to be inhuman... It was important to sanitise everyone and there was a huge rush as large number of people had returned. So we did what we thought was best," he added.
Meanwhile, Amit Malviya shared other articles from around the world which reported the spraying of "disinfectants". Taking to Twitter, he wrote, "Media must be responsible in these times and not spread misinformation..."
Meanwhile, 92 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours. The total confirmed cases rose to 1071, while the death toll so far is 29.
