Tamil Nadu Police have clarified that the videos of attacks on migrants are "baseless."
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday vowed to protect migrant workers from other states, amid efforts to tackle reports of targeted attacks on people from Bihar that officials have dismissed as fake.
"Migrant workers need not fear. If anyone threatens you, call on the helpline. Tamil Nadu government and people will stand to protect our migrant brothers," he said in a statement.
Tamil Nadu and Bihar officials have warned against spreading rumours about attacks on migrant workers from Bihar in the southern state, which has led to panic among the workers and even heated scenes in the Bihar assembly.
Officers from Bihar also said they will meet migrant workers along with local officials, sources in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's office told NDTV.
The police in both states are closely keeping an eye on social media to check rumours about attacks on migrant workers from Bihar. Fake messages on WhatsApp being forwarded in a swarm seem to be behind the panic.
District Collectors in Tamil Nadu have issued appeals in Hindi asking migrant workers not to be scared.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a review meeting with all the top officials and there it was decided to fly down a team for confidence-building measures. In the Bihar assembly, his deputy Tejaswi Yadav challenged the BJP to tell the Home Ministry to get the matter investigated.
Mr Yadav said the Tamil Nadu Police have clarified that the videos are "baseless."
"DGP Tamil Nadu is categorically stating that it is completely baseless and rumour-mongering that migrant workers of Bihar are being targeted in Tamil Nadu. Old video of violence is mischievously being spread stating people of Bihar are no longer safe in Tamil Nadu, creating panic," Mr Yadav tweeted.
Referring to fake videos of migrant workers being attacked in the southern state, senior Bohar police officer JS Gangwar said, "Bihar DGP has spoken to Tamil Nadu DGP. Other senior officers of the Bihar Police are in touch with senior officials of the Tamil Nadu Police. The Tamil Nadu Police said the videos are fake and misleading."
"Videos of some old personal disputes were shot, and it was published saying that it is against residents of Bihar. They have said that no such incident has taken place. Tamil Nadu Police are taking action continuously and providing protection," said Mr Gangwar.
Tamil Nadu Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu said the videos circulating on social media were fake and "mischievous."
"Somebody in Bihar posted a false and mischievous video saying migrant workers from Bihar are being attacked in Tamil Nadu. Two videos are in circulation, and both are false. These two incidents happened earlier in Tiruppur and Coimbatore. In both cases, the clash was not between the people of Tamil Nadu and migrant workers. One was a clash between two groups of Bihar migrant workers and another video was of a clash between two residents of Coimbatore," Mr Babu said.