Published 12:44 IST, April 16th 2020
Migrant workers leave on motorbikes from Tamil Nadu amid Covid lockdown, stopped by Police
Amid nationwide lockdown, 26 people hailing from Rajasthan, travelling in a group on 13 motorcycles, were stopped by police at a check post before Thoothukudi
Amid nationwide lockdown, 26 people hailing from Rajasthan, travelling in a group on 13 motorcycles, were stopped by police at a check post before Thoothukudi district on Wednesday.
The migrant workers, along with their children, came from Kanyakumari and wanted to go back to their home state. However, they were stopped at the police check post on the highway and sent back to Kanyakumari. These families were involved in small businesses in Kanyakumari district. However, due to lockdown, they have been left without work.
Lockdown violation in Mumbai on Tuesday evening
Around 2,000 people, mostly migrant workers, who are stuck in Mumbai due to lockdown imposed to tackle the coronavirus, gathered at Bandra station, around 3 PM on Tuesday. Flouting the norms of social distancing and lockdown, the workers allegedly sought transport arrangements to go back to their native places, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the lockdown till May 3. As per reports, they had bought into rumours that trains have been arranged to facilitate their return. The crowd was dispersed only after Police resorted to lathi-charge. After vacating, the area was sanitized.
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Taking immediate cognizance of the incident, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and extended full support. The Mumbai Police registered an FIR. Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 149, 186(obstructing public servant in discharge of his public functions), 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 (disobeying order under this Act) of the Epidemic Act have been invoked. The case has been filed against 800-1000 unknown accused persons. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh announced that a probe has been ordered to find out who spread the rumour that trains will be run to take migrant workers back to their states.
In the latest development, Vinay Dubey, a man who had allegedly incited the migrant agitation. Vinay Dubey was detained by the Mumbai Police after a Facebook post was found wherein Dubey had issued an open call to migrants to agitate against the Government. He has now been arrested and booked under Sections 117, 153 A, 188, 269, 270 and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3 of The Epidemic Diseases Act and would be produced before a local court later today.
(inputs from ANI)
Updated 12:44 IST, April 16th 2020