Dainik Bhaskar, India’s largest Hindi daily, had carried sensational and false reports of attacks on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu in March 2023. BJP supporters circulated the reports widely. A week after the direction from Madras High Court, Dainik Bhaskar published a corrigendum on its front page on Tuesday, July 11, stating that the news report about the attack on Bihari workers in Tamil Nadu was not true, and apologised for the same.
The Hindi Newspaper, on March 2, published a news item on their social media, saying “Taliban in Tamil Nadu punishing Bihari labourers for speaking in Hindi,” based on a phone call with a Bihari man in Tamil Nadu. It also claimed that “more than 15 Bihari migrant workers” in Tamil Nadu had been “murdered”.
The news sent ripples across the country and the Tamil Nadu police booked Dhainik Bhaskar on March 4, saying they were spreading false information.
In its apology, the newspaper said the news articles in question had been removed from all the digital platforms based on directions from the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police.
Conceding that the news reported on 02.03.2023 about the attack on Bihari workers in the state of Tamil Nadu was not true, the corrigendum said that immediately upon coming across a WhatsApp message from the Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu insisting that the reports were not true, the concerned news articles were removed from all digital media platforms including from the Twitter handle of Dainik Bhaskar on the same day and the version of DGP, Tamil Nadu was published in subsequent articles.
The editorial team of Dainik Bhaskar apologized to the people of Tamil Nadu and Bihar as well for reporting the said ‘news’. “The Dainik Bhaskar always promotes true and fact-based journalism, any inconvenience caused to the court and people of Tamil Nadu and Bihar is regretted. This corrigendum is published as per the order of the Hon'ble High Court of Madras dated 27.06.2023 in Crl. O.P. Nos 11077 and 13400 of 2023,” the newspaper added.
On March 2, a video story also accompanied the news report, with visuals of altercations between two groups of men. The report had claimed that people from Bihar were being attacked solely for speaking in Hindi.
Two days later, on March 4, Tiruppur North police station booked Prasoon Mishra, a news editor of Dainik Bhaskar daily under sections 153(A) (promoting enmity between different groups), 501(1)(b)(Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), and 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes)of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
During the hearing on July 5, Justice AD Jagdish Chandira, who presided over the case, criticised the newspaper for its tendency to publish sensitive news without verifying its accuracy or considering the sensitivity of the subject matter. He expressed his strong disapproval, stating, "This Court strongly deprecates the act of the petitioner in publishing such sensitive news without verifying its correctness." But the judge granted anticipatory bail to Prasoon Mishra, a news editor from Dainik Bhaskar's digital division, after he tendered an unconditional apology and agreed to publish a clarification.
It is to be noted, earlier this year, Supreme Court also asked BJP leader Prashant Kumar Umrao to tender an unconditional apology for tweeting that Bihari migrant laborers were being hanged in Tamil Nadu. It was directed while allowing his plea against conditions imposed by the Madras High Court while granting him anticipatory bail on April 6.
On March 2, Umrao, also BJP spokesperson, tweeted that 15 people were hanged inside a room for speaking Hindi in Tamil Nadu and 12 among them were dead. His tweet is one among the many viral videos, WhatsApp forwards, and fake news that carried the false claim of rampant attacks against migrant workers in Tamil Nadu. Thoothukudi Central police booked a case against him for spreading wrong information, under IPC sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A, 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) on March 4.