Bandra chaos: 'Labor leader' arrested for spreading rumors; journalist booked
What's the story
Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an extension of nationwide lockdown till May 3, horrifying images emerged from Bandra, Mumbai.
A sea of migrant workers gathered at the railway station, demanding to be sent home. They were dispersed later and Maharashtra government ordered a probe.
Soon, three FIRs were registered and a man, identified as Vinay Dubey, arrested for allegedly starting rumors.
What happened
Mumbai, the worst-affected city, witnessed troublesome scenes yesterday
The number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai (501 reportedly) has given sleepless nights to authorities.
To add to their woes, migrant workers, mostly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, gathered at the railway station yesterday and protested against the lockdown.
No social distancing guidelines announced by the government were followed at the spot on Tuesday, forcing cops to use batons to disperse the crowd.
Aftermath
Hundreds were booked, police looked for instigator
The scenes were reminiscent of the migrant crisis that sparked after the first lockdown was announced and it also raised pertinent questions about the coordination between Centre and states.
Soon, police registered three FIRs. One was filed against 700 unidentified people and cops started looking for the brains behind the crisis.
Their quest led them to Dubey, who allegedly instigated the migrant workers.
Arrest
Dubey ran a campaign titled 'Chalo Ghar Ki Ore'
It's reported that Dubey, a self-proclaimed labor leader, ran a campaign on social media titled Chalo Ghar Ki Ore (let's head home).
Mumbai Police is investigating whether the posts possibly gave migrant workers the impression that transport has been arranged to take them to their native places.
He was arrested from his house in Navi Mumbai last night.
Threat
Workers are suffering, send them home, Dubey said in video
In a video, Dubey claimed he arranged 40 buses to ferry workers to their homes and all he needs is permission.
"I request that after the lockdown gets over on April 14, the state government arrange trains to UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal. They can be quarantined once they get there," he said, warning that if nothing's done, he will start the journey on foot.
Who is he?
Raj Thackeray used Dubey's help to reach out to migrants
Dubey, who reportedly hails from UP, runs an NGO called Uttar Bhartiya Maha Panchayat. He is said to have ties with Raj Thackeray, who once invited him on stage to reach out to migrants.
In 2019, he contested as an independent candidate from Kalyan and lost.
He was booked under IPC Sections 117, 153(a), 188, 269, 270, 505(2) and Section 3 of Epidemic Diseases Act.
Twitter Post
One of Dubey's videos can be viewed here
मुंबई से उत्तरभारत के लिए निशुल्क बससेवा !!
— Vinay Dubey Mumbai (@The_vinaydubey) April 9, 2020
यात्रा परमिशन के लिए राज्य सरकारो को अधिकृत #इमेल भेजा गया है.#VinayDubeyMumbai@OfficeofUT @CMOMaharashtra @CMOfficeUP @ChouhanShivraj @NitishKumar @HemantSorenJMM @PMOIndia @ANI @rajnathsingh @RahulGandhi @INCIndia @AUThackeray pic.twitter.com/A9CE4hr9Xb
Details
Separately, journalist, who spoke about special trains, was booked too
Meanwhile, a journalist faces action too.
"We have registered a separate FIR against Rahul Kulkarni, a journalist from Marathi news channel for running news about a special train running for migrant workers. We are calling him for inquiry today," Mumbai Police spokesperson Pranaya Ashok disclosed.
Kulkarni was booked under IPC Sections 269, 270, 505 (b), 188, 117 and Section 3 of Epidemic Diseases Act.
Call
About crisis, Shah had a word with Thackeray
After the chaos sparked, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The latter told the Shiv Sena boss that such incidents would disrupt India's fight against coronavirus.
Later, Thackeray told migrant workers to not treat the lockdown as a "lock-up" while adding that no one will be allowed to disrupt law and order in the state.