Fake news on migrants: Bihar YouTuber detained under NSA by Tamil Nadu police

YouTuber Manish Kashyap, who was arrested for circulating fake videos on Bihari migrants being attacked in Tamil Nadu in March creating panic among them, was on Thursday detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

The action comes a day after a local court in Madurai sent him to judicial custody till April 19. Kashyap, who is a YouTuber, circulated fake videos on migrants from Bihar being attacked and tortured in Tamil Nadu in the first week of March. His videos went viral creating panic among migrants from north India who were then preparing to leave for their villages to celebrate Holi.

The Tamil Nadu Police booked Kashyap and a few others for circulating fake news and fake videos. After hiding for a few days, Kashyap surrendered before the Bihar Police in the last week of March and he was brought to Madurai by Tamil Nadu police.

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“Kashyap has been detained under NSA,” a senior police officer told DH.

The fake videos circulated by Kashyap and others, including a BJP spokesperson from Uttar Pradesh, led to tension among migrant workers. Tamil Nadu government took the migrant workers into confidence by reaching out to them, while a team of senior bureaucrats from Bihar air-dashed to the state to assess the situation.

Chief Minister M K Stalin stepped in to defuse the situation by asserting that Tamils will protect north Indian migrants living in the state.
“People who are spreading rumours that migrant labourers are attacked in Tamil Nadu are against the country and its integrity. It is condemnable that some people have stopped to such a low for political gains by creating an issue that never existed. This Government and the people of Tamil Nadu will be a bulwark for all workers here,” Stalin had said.