Bandra migrant protest: Man held for offensive social media posts

Vinay Dubey, a Navi Mumbai resident, was arrested early Wednesday for posting messages on his social media accounts which allegedly led to the gathering of a large number of migrant workers in Bandra on Tuesday. The arrested was produced before the court which remanded him to police custody till April 21. Dubey had uploaded a video on social media in which he demanded that the Maharashtra government make travel arrangements for migrants, who are stranded due to the lockdown and want to go back to their native places.

Mumbai (Maharashtra):A Navi Mumbai resident was arrested early on Wednesday for posting messages on his social media accounts which allegedly led to hundreds of migrant workers, stuck in Mumbai due to the lockdown, gathering near suburban Bandra station on Tuesday, police said.

"The accused, Vinay Dubey, was produced in court which remanded him in police custody till April 21st," a police official said.

Reportedly, Dubey had uploaded a video on social media in which he demanded that the Maharashtra government make travel arrangements for migrants, who are stranded due to the coronavirus-enforced lockdown and want to go back to their native places.

"He had also tweeted about the issue and called for a national-level protest if trains are not arranged till April 18th to ferry migrant workers to their native places," he said.

Dubey was initially detained by Navi Mumbai police and later handed over to the police in suburban Bandra.

He has been reportedly booked under IPC Sections 153 A (promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups), 117 (abetting commission of the offence), 188 (disobedience of order by public servant), 269, 270 (negligent and malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act.

"His interrogation was underway at the Bandra police station," the official said.

The police suspect his social media messages contributed to the protest by more than 1,000 migrant workers, most of them from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, near Bandra railway station on Tuesday afternoon.

They were demanding that the state government make transport arrangements so that they can go back to their native towns and villages.