Bihar: A person has been arrested from Bihar's Jamui district in connection with fake videos of alleged attacks on migrants in Tamil Nadu, PTI quoted officials.
Bihar Police Economic Offence Unit (EOU) has booked four persons in connection with the case, officials said in a statement.
"An investigation by the EOU has revealed that the accused were indulging in spreading fake videos of migrants being killed and beaten up in Tamil Nadu on social media," the statement said.
Police said that 30 such videos were widely shared on social media, forcing migrant workers from Bihar flee Tamil Nadu in panic.
The cops have further informed that they have sent notices to service providers for preserving 42 such videos -- nine on Facebook, 15 each on Twitter and YouTube, and three on Gmail -- for further investigation.
"A 10-member team of the EOU is analysing these videos," police said, adding that those posting and sharing such videos for spreading rumours will be dealt with strictly.
Among the accused -- Aman Kumar, Rakesh Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh Rajput and Manish Kashyap -- have been named in the FIR while Aman Kumar, a resident of Laxmipur in Jamui district, has been arrested, police said.
A four-member team comprising top officials of the Bihar government has been sent to Tamil Nadu to coordinate with officers who are investigating the matter.
Meanwhile, speaking on the matter, Tuticorin SP Balaji Saravanan said, "Rumour spread on social media regarding the Northern state workers (Bihar) being attacked is false. Tuticorin district is concerned, all police personnel are here for protection."
"The situation now is peaceful. Few of them (migrant workers) left for Holi celebration otherwise we're able to convince them through employers. Police officials reached up to migrants workes & convinced there is no such attack on Bihari workers or workers from any other state," said DGP C Sylendra Babu.
"Whatever we have seen in media are fake videos, unconnected videos and most of them have not even taken place in Tamil Nadu," Sylendra Babu said.
"In places where north Indian workers are employed, we have intensified police patrol, and Hindi-knowing police personnel are in constant touch with them. Special helplines created in Erode, Coimbatore, Tirupur & Chennai," the DGP added.
"Our social media cells countered such content, we requested channels to delete this content and filed cases against those who didn't delete the videos. So far nine cases have been registered," he said.
"Rumours are very dangerous and can cause havoc, people should not forward posts which are highly derogatory," the DGP requested.
(With inputs from PTI)
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