Amid the 21-day lockdown, when dozens of migrant workers were walking back to their homes in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly, they were stopped, made to squat and bleach was sprayed on them. This caused a furore over social media and also prompted comparisons to what happened in Kerala last week. About 40 bikers were stopped at a check-post on the Kerala-Karnataka border in Muthanga and were sprayed with a liquid in order to disinfect them.
People on social media have now questioned what happened in Kerala as well.
The fire department officials in Kerala, however, have reacted saying that they merely used soap and water.
“This was being done irrespective of religion, caste or background, as a strong precautionary measure since Wayanad at that time, did not have even one case,” a senior police official told NDTV.
Before the clarification, Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya, too, tweeted saying that UP was being “targetted.” He said, “This is Kerala, where agencies are mass ‘spraying’ people crossing borders. But all the outrage is reserved for UP, because a saffron clad monk of the BJP is the Chief Minister and is doing a good job! #IndiaFightsCorona while ‘The Lobby’ fights India...”
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