The Tamil Nadu police today booked Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar and BJP Uttar Pradesh spokesperson Prashant Patel Umrao for “spreading false news” about purported “attacks” on Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu, the News Minute reported.

The editor of Dainik Bhaskar was booked by the Tirupur north police station under sections 153A and 505 of the Indian penal code. Umrao was booked by the Thoothukudi Central police under sections 153, 153A, 504 and 505.

Dainik Bhaskar had reported that “more than 15” Bihari migrant workers in Tamil Nadu have been “murdered”, and that others were being “brutalised” and “threatened”. The News Minute noted that Dainik Bhaskar published a video report on Biharis “being attacked solely for speaking in Hindi”. 

The Tamil Nadu police tweeted on March 2 that “rumours” were being spread without “verifying the facts”. On the same day, according to the News Minute, Umrao tweeted that “15 people were hanged inside a room for speaking Hindi in Tamil Nadu and 12 among them were dead”.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar then tweeted asking authorities in the state to “ensure safety” of labourers from Bihar. In response, the Tamil Nadu DGP clarified that videos of such attacks were “false” and “mischievous”. This was reiterated by the Bihar police.

A senior police officer told DT Next that the Dainik Bhaskar editor “will have to explain from where they got the news and how they verified it. Bigger newspapers should behave in a more responsible way”.