On Tuesday, barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced extension of the lockdown till May 3, migrant workers in Mumbai hit the streets, demanding transportation arrangements to go back to their native places. While police had to resort to force to disperse the crowd, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in his address on the same day, attempted to allay fears, saying "Why do you want to go? Why are you afraid? We are not happy to lock you down. We will take care of you. You are Indians, and this is the time to fight together."
It now appears that the rumours on social media prompted the migrant workers to come out on the road, defying lockdown regulations. Police have detained a journalist, Rahul Kulkarni, and a self-styled activist for north-Indians in Mumbai, Vinay Dube, in connection with the incident. While the journalist claimed on Twitter that Jan Sadharan special trains would resume for people stranded due to the lockdown citing a Railway ministry note, the activist is accused of inciting migrants with social media posts with the exhortation "Chalo Ghar Ki Ore (let's head home)".
According to NDTV, the note the journalist posted was an internal communication which the Railways later withdrew as the lockdown period was extended.
In a Facebook live, the activist made an appeal to the migrant workers to stage a protest at Bandra station against the government for failing to offer them travel arrangements to head to their villages.
In his Facebook live, Dube said migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal are desperate to reach home and urged the state government to make travel arrangements for. He said they can be quarantined when they reach their native places and threatened to lead them on foot if the government fails to help them.
According to ABP News, Dube heads an NGO named the Uttar Bharatiya Maha Panchayat. On his Twitter handle (@The_vinaydubey), he describes himself as “Entrepreneur and Social Activist. (Belongs to No political party hence free to speak against anyone)”. According to some media reports, however, Dube is linked to the NCP.
ABP News also reported that he lives in Kalyan, Mumbai. He contested and lost the Lok Sabha elections last year from Kalyan constituency. He was also active during the protests against the CAA and the NRC.
Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had strict action would be taken against those spreading fake and mischievous messages via social media.
According to news agency IANS, Dube was detained by Navi Mumbai Police and was handed over to Bandra Police which arrested him. He has been remanded in police custody till April 21.
