Bihar YouTuber arrested for fake videos of migrant workers attacked in Tamil Nadu

West Champaran (Bihar) [India], March 18 (ANI): YouTuber Manish Kashyap who allegedly circulated false misleading news about purported attacks on migrant labourers working in Tamil Nadu was arrested from Bettiah in Bihar on Saturday, police said.

According to the Bihar police, the accused surrendered at Jagdishpur police station in Bettiah while the Bihar Police and Economic Offence Unit (EOU) was in the process of attaching his house. “Kashyap, wanted by Bihar Police and Tamil Nadu Police in fake news matter of labourers issue in the southern state, surrendered before the police on Saturday fearing arrest and attachment of his belongings,” a statement issued by the EOU of Bihar Police said.

The EOU has registered cases against Kashyap and others on the charges of “indulging in spreading fake videos of migrants being killed and beaten up in Tamil Nadu on social media”.

Earlier, four people, including two members of the Hindu Munnani outfit, were arrested and sent to judicial custody for allegedly assaulting migrant workers in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore city, Tamil Nadu police said.

Notably, the issue over the alleged ‘attacks’ on migrants emerged after unverified reports on social media claimed that migrant labourers were targeted in Tamil Nadu. It triggered unrest among workers from other states and chief minister Stalin had to reassure that the state was safe for them.

Earlier this month, a team from Bihar led by Balamurugan IAS also visited Tamil Nadu to take stock of the matter. The team visited Tiruppur and met the district administration and police officials to know about the actions taken so far in the case. Officials of the Bihar government also interacted with Bihar-based migrant workers in Chennai.

On March 9, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin attacked BJP accusing it of spreading rumours about the attack on migrant labourers. The Chief Minister further said that there are no such incidents in Tamil Nadu and the delegates from Bihar who visited the state returned with full satisfaction.

Stalin had also spoken to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in a telephone call and reassured his Bihar counterpart about the safety of migrant workers.

The alleged assault on Bihari migrants in Tamil Nadu had stirred massive political ruckus in both states. LJP chief had launched an attack on the Bihar CM on the issue.