Two Hindu Munnani workers arrested for assault on migrant workers in TN

Four people, including two Hindu Munnani activists were arrested by the police on Monday (March 13), on charges of assaulting migrant workers in Coimbatore. This assault on migrant workers comes just days after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had assured the safety of all migrant workers in the southern state.

On Sunday night, Gowtham Kathua, who works in a jewellery workshop, and his two  friends were intercepted by a four member gang in the Town Hall area. They picked up a quarrel with Kathua and his friends before reportedly assaulting them, police said.

The trio reached home and told their roommates that they were beaten up by a gang.

Also read: Bihar man arrested for spreading false info about migrant workers in Tirupur

Based on the complaint lodged by the migrant workers, police registered cases under three IPC Sections including 294 (using obscene languages) 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt). After verifying the CCTV footage, police arrested all the four early on Monday.

Two of the accused have been identified as Hindu Munnani workers, police said, adding that investigations are on in the case.

BJP seeks statement in Bihar Assembly on migrant attacks in TN

Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP in Bihar on Monday demanded that the Nitish Kumar government come out with a statement in the Assembly on the findings of the officials who went to Tamil Nadu to look into the allegations of attacks on migrants. Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha, also sought to know whether the chief minister has agreed to ally RJD’s demand for withdrawal of general consent to the CBI, thus making the state “safe for the corrupt”.

“I raised the issue of migrants on the floor of the House citing newspaper reports. These reports may or may not be true but the government cannot keep sitting on the findings of the three-member team it had sent to Tamil Nadu,” Sinha told reporters outside the Assembly.

“We demand that the government issue a statement on every aspect of the issue on the floor of the House,” said the BJP leader, whose party has been accused by the DMK government in Tamil Nadu of spreading “rumours”.

Also read: Stalin: Opposition unity call against BJP led to ‘lies’ about migrant workers in TN

Withdrawing general consent to CBI

Also, Sinha bristled at the demand raised by RJD MLA Bhai Virendra, inside the House, for withdrawing general consent to CBI, taking a cue from states like West Bengal, due to the “flagrant misuse” of central agencies by the Union government.

“The CM must come clear on this issue. He should tell the House whether he is in agreement with his ally’s demand, aimed at making the state safe for the corrupt,” said Sinha. The RJD leader’s demand came in the backdrop of CBI questioning party supremo Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, followed by raids on premises connected to several members of the family and its close aides.

The BJP leader also sought an inquiry into the incident of fire breaking out in Kishanganj district on Sunday where a temple and some nearby shops were damaged, though the state police asserted that it was an “accident, with no law and order implications”. Sinha said, “We must know the truth. It is a district with 70 per cent minority population. It must be known whether the fire was an accident (sanyog) or a deliberate design (prayog).”