Bandra migrants' protest: Misinformation on trains spread through 11 methods, police have tracked down accounts, says Maharashtra home minister

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said on Wednesday that the police has “tracked down the accounts” who were behind the spreading of misinformation regarding commencement of train services. This misinformation may have been a factor behind a protest by migrant workers near Mumbai’s Bandra station.

Deshmukh said that “eleven different methods were used” to spread the news.

FIRs are being filed in these incidents and appropriate legal action will follow, he said in a tweet.

Misinformation regarding commencement of trains from April 14, 2020 was spread using 11 different methods. The accounts have been tracked, FIRs are being filed & due legal consequences will follow.#StayAlertStaySafe #ZeroToleranceForRumors

— ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) April 15, 2020

Deshmukh also asserted that the state government has zero tolerance for rumours.

Defying the lockdown in place to contain the coronavirus, more than 1,000 migrant workers had gathered outside the suburban Bandra railway station on Tuesday afternoon.

They were demanding that the state government make transport arrangements so that they can go back to their native towns and villages.

News18 quoted revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat as saying that 12 persons including a person named Vinay Dubey have been identified for spreading misinformation about trains.

Rumours and false information on social media regarding train services are being cited as one of the reasons for the protest which took authorities by surprise.

The police had resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd, and has also filed cases against unknown persons for violating the lockdown.

Deshmukh’s remarks came hours after he announced the arrest of a Marathi TV journalist over his report on resumption of special trains.

The journalist, Rahul Kulkarni, was detained in Osmanabad in Marathwada region, where he is based, and brought to Mumbai where he was formally arrested.

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In a recent news report, Kulkarni said Jan Sadharan special trains would resume for people stranded due to the lockdown, the police official said.

He has been booked under IPC Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant and 269, 270 (negligent, malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 117 (abetting commission of offence by public), the official said.

With inputs from PTI