Cops book TN BJP chief for inciting violence

Chennai, March 5

A day after Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai blamed the ruling DMK for the stir over ‘attacks’ on migrant labourers, the Cyber Crime Division of the state police today booked him for inciting violence and promoting enmity between groups.

Annamalai had, in a tweet, alleged that DMK’s MPs’ “vile comments on North Indians, DMK minister calling them Panipuri Wala and their alliance partners demanding their exodus” had triggered the crisis. The Tamil Nadu police also booked BJP spokesperson Prashant Umrao and two journalists on the charges of spreading “false” news.

Tamil Nadu’s DGP Sylendra Babu said: “Somebody in Bihar posted false and mischievous videos, saying migrant workers were attacked in Tamil Nadu. Two videos were posted. Both are false as these incidents happened at an earlier date in Tiruppur and Coimbatore. One was a clash between two groups of workers from Bihar while another was from a clash between two local residents in Coimbatore.” A statewide panic was created among migrant workers, working in Tamil Nadu, after several purported videos, showing attacks on migrant workers, circulated on social media.