A self-proclaimed labour leader who was arrested by Mumbai Police after a mass gathering of migrant workers near Bandra railway station on Tuesday has been sent o police custody till April 21.
Mumbai Police arrested Vinay Dubey for threatening a protest by labourers in Kurla on April 18 if they are nor sent to their native homes by the government.
He was arrested after hundreds of labourers from other states assembled near Bandra railways station on the last day of the 21-day lockdown to go to their native cities and villages. While the lockdown has been extended till May 3, a rumour was spread that special trains were being run from there which would take them home.
Maharashtra government ordered a probe into the matter and Mumbai Police soon arrested the man from Navi Mumbai. He was taken to Bandra Police Station and an FIR was filed under IPC sections 117, 153 A, 188, 269, 270, 505 (2) and Section 3 of The Epidemic Diseases Act. He will be produced before a local court later today.
In videos posted on his social media accounts, Dubey, who describes him as the leader of labourers in Mumbai, openly threatens the government and provokes migrant workers not to sit in their houses but to gather at the Bandra Railways station to stage a dharna.
His Facebook page is filled with posts threatening the government of protests if North Indians are taken home.
Dubey is Airoli native, whose family hails from Bhadoi in Uttar Pradesh, and has been associated with Raj Thackeray's MNS.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray promised labourers that they will be taken care of and they should stay put wherever they are during the lockdown.
"Almost 5.5-6 lakh migrant labour from different States are being provided breakfast and two meals a day, along with medical care. Despite these measures, they are a bit rattled. I would like to appeal to them that you are in our State and we will take care of you. Please do not panic," he said.
"We are taking care of their needs and requirements. The day the lockdown will be lifted, not just me, but the Central government will make arrangements for you to go back home. This is the time to confront the situation, in which we Hindustani never fall short. The Maharashtra Government will take care of you like the Chief Ministers of other States are doing for the people of Maharashtra," he added.
Maharashtra is the worst-affected state in the country with 2,684 cases and a death toll of 178. Mumbai, the country's financial capital, alone accounts for 1,756 COVID-19 cases and 112 deaths, the state health department said on Tuesday.
