On the afternoon of 14 April 2020, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended India's Covid-19 lockdown to 3 May, a large crowd of stranded migrant workers gathered outside Bandra West railway station in Mumbai, demanding transport home. Police dispersed them with a baton charge. A labour activist and a TV journalist were arrested; police later cleared the journalist. Special trains for migrants began on 1 May.
Key takeaways
- On 14 April 2020, hours after the Covid lockdown was extended to 3 May, migrant workers gathered outside Bandra West station in Mumbai asking to be sent home; police dispersed them with batons.
- Crowd estimates range from about 1,000 (police via PTI) to at least 3,000 (The Wire).
- Police booked about 1,000 unknown people, labour activist Vinay Dubey and ABP Majha journalist Rahul Kulkarni; a July 2020 closure report later cleared Kulkarni.
- Mumbai Police and fact-checkers rejected claims that the gathering was religious or organised from the nearby Jama Masjid.
Background: three weeks without wages
The nationwide lockdown began on 25 March 2020 and was due to end on 14 April Scroll. With passenger trains cancelled, most daily wage workers in Mumbai were left without jobs, money or enough food The Wire.
Shaikh Mudassir, a 52-year-old zari worker from Bihar Sharif, told The Wire he had not been paid "a single penny" since the lockdown began. "We aren't dying of an epidemic but of hunger," he said, in Hindi The Wire. Police told BOOM most of the workers were zari and embroidery workers living in tiny rooms inside their units BOOM.
The rumours: a railway letter and a Facebook video
On the morning of 14 April, between 9 and 11.30 am, Marathi channel ABP Majha aired a report by Rahul Kulkarni that the railways would run special trains for stranded migrants The Wire. It cited a 13 April South Central Railway (SCR) letter saying it had been "decided to run Jansadharan specials for clearing stranded passengers/ migrant labour of unreserved segment". SCR said the letter was "authentic" but for "internal communications", and the report named no station or date The Wire. SCR tweeted that "ALL Passenger Trains stands CANCELLED till 03.05.2020" The Quint.
Separately, Vinay Dubey, a self-described labour leader from Navi Mumbai, posted a Facebook video on 12 April saying he had arranged 40 buses but had no permission to run them. He warned that if nothing was done by 14 or 15 April he would lead workers on foot to north India around 20 April Scroll.
Zonal DCP Abhishek Trimukhe told BOOM two rumours spread where the workers lived: that trains would run again, and that food was being distributed near the station BOOM.
The gathering and the baton charge
Lockdown extended
Modi extended the lockdown to 3 May without announcing relief for migrant workers Scroll. ABP says it reported between 12.30 and 1.30 pm that no trains would run Indian Television.
Crowd forms
Police said workers gathered at the bus depot near the station around 3 pm Scroll. "Initially it was just a small group. But within 30 minutes a large number of people gathered here," a senior officer told The Wire The Wire.
Stopped at the station
DCP Trimukhe said "after our personnel stopped them from entering the station, they started protesting." An officer said police arranged food, but many refused it and asked to be sent home BOOM.
Baton charge
Police used batons to disperse the crowd Scroll. Police said it was dispersed about two hours after it formed, with assurances of food and shelter PTI via Deccan Herald.
Arrests
Dubey was arrested in the early hours PTI via The Wire and remanded to police custody until 21 April. Kulkarni was arrested later that day Scroll.
Crowd figures vary: about 1,000 per police via PTI PTI via Deccan Herald, "nearly 1,500" per the Mumbai Police spokesperson The Quint, nearly 2,000 per Alt News Alt News, and at least 3,000 per The Wire The Wire. No deaths were reported, and no official injury count was published.
Both accounts
Workers' account
"We want to return to our families. They are left back home without food," Sonjay, a welder from Kokrajhar in Assam, told The Wire. "The police rained their lathis on us," he said, adding that several people were injured. Workers wanted Maharashtra to negotiate with the Centre for their return The Wire.
Police and government account
Police spokesperson DCP Pranaya Ashok said officers tried to convince the workers, but "a section of the crowd turned violent so light force had to be used" Scroll. Officers told The Wire force was a "final resort" The Wire. Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said misinformation about trains was spread "using 11 different methods" The Quint.
The state and the Centre
Government's position · Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray called the incident "unfortunate" and said workers probably thought trains would start on 14 April. "Lockdown doesn't mean lockup... The day when lockdown will be lifted, not only me, but the Centre also will make arrangements for you," he said Scroll. Aaditya Thackeray blamed the Union government for "not being able to take a call on arranging a way back home for migrant labour" The Wire.
Government's position · Centre Home Minister Amit Shah phoned Thackeray, said such events "weaken India's fight against coronavirus", and offered full support, a home ministry official said PTI via Deccan Herald.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said "State government failed in making arrangements for labourers" Scroll. BJP's Kirit Somaiya sent police a video he said showed the gathering "was a planned event" Deccan Herald.
FIRs and arrests
Bandra police registered three FIRs The News Minute:
- About 1,000 unknown people, under IPC sections 143, 147, 149, 186 and 188 (unlawful assembly, rioting, disobeying orders) and the Epidemic Diseases Act.
- Vinay Dubey, under IPC sections 117, 153A, 188, 269, 270 and 505(2) and the Epidemic Diseases Act PTI via Deccan Herald.
- Rahul Kulkarni, ABP Majha's Osmanabad-based reporter, under IPC sections 117, 188, 269, 270 and 505(2) and the Epidemic Diseases Act The Wire.
Deshmukh tweeted that Kulkarni was arrested "for giving news report, due to which rumour was spread" Scroll. A Bandra magistrate granted him bail; the court remarked that the report suggested trains would run and that "anti-social elements" used the viral news to incite people LiveLaw. ABP called any link to the crowd "entirely misconceived" Indian Television.
On 28 April magistrate JY Ghule granted Dubey bail on a Rs 15,000 cash surety. His lawyer argued that Dubey's video set 18 April for an agitation: "migrants gathered on April 14 itself. So how can my client be blamed for that?" PTI via Deccan Herald.
Police clear the journalist
At the end of July 2020, Mumbai Police filed an 83-page closure report in the Bandra magistrate court. It concluded "People had misinterpreted and misunderstood Rahul Kulkarni's news" and accepted the FIR rested on "mistaken facts" The Wire. Based on 11 witness statements, it found most of the crowd lived in nearby slums and had acted on talk heard near home, not the broadcast, and it blamed Dubey for the rumours. Kulkarni said the state "found a scapegoat in me".
The mosque claims and the fact-checks
Within hours, videos of the crowd beside the Sunni Jama Masjid, next to the station, were shared with claims that the gathering was religious or planned. Some TV channels and prominent accounts asked whether the mosque was responsible and why workers carried no bags BOOM.
- False The crowd was a religious congregation. Mumbai Police said those gathered were "mostly labourers who wanted to go back home" and that it was not communal; lack of bags did not mean they did not intend to travel The Quint.
- False A man was rallying the crowd in Allah's name. The Quint and BOOM found he was urging people to disperse; a local reporter said he was helping police BOOM.
- No evidence The mosque organised it. A senior officer told BOOM, "the mosque has always been there. It has no connection to the crowd that gathered."
- False A viral crowd video shows Mumbai or Thane. It was shot at Delhi's Anand Vihar on 28 March BOOM.
Similar scenes elsewhere
Delhi, 28 March. At Anand Vihar bus depot, 10,000 to 15,000 people waited for 60 to 70 buses by 9.30 pm, police told PTI, and a baton charge was reported Scroll.
Surat, April. On 10 April textile workers demanding wages and travel home burned handcarts in Laskana; more than 70 were detained Deccan Herald. On the evening of 14 April, 700 to 800 workers came out on Varachha Road demanding to go home Deccan Herald.
The Shramik Special trains
After a home ministry order, the railways began Shramik Special trains on 1 May 2020. By 27 May, 3,543 trains had carried about 48 lakh people; 677 left from Maharashtra Governance Now. Costs were shared 85:15 between the Centre and states PTI via Tribune.
In September 2020 Railway Minister Piyush Goyal told the Rajya Sabha that 4,621 trains ran to 31 August, carrying 63.19 lakh people, and that 97 people were reported dead on board by 9 September Kerala Kaumudi National Herald. In March 2021 he put the total at "more than 64 lakh" Deccan Herald.
Outcome
- Deaths: None reported at Bandra.
- FIRs: Three, one against about 1,000 unknown people.
- Arrests: Dubey (bail 28 April) and Kulkarni (bail after about a day).
- Closure: Police report clearing Kulkarni, July 2020.
- Court: On 30 April the Bombay High Court refused a plea to deploy armed forces: "One incident does not make out an urgency" PTI via Tribune.
- Policy: Shramik Special trains from 1 May 2020.
What is still unclear
No public report was found on whether chargesheets were filed against Dubey or the unnamed workers, or on whether the court accepted the Kulkarni closure report. No inquiry into the baton charge was reported.
Questions people ask
What happened at Bandra station on 14 April 2020?
Hours after the lockdown was extended to 3 May, stranded migrant workers gathered outside Bandra West station demanding transport home. Police dispersed them with a baton charge.
Why did the migrants think trains were running?
Police said rumours spread about trains restarting and free food. A TV report cited a railway letter on special trains, and an activist had threatened a protest march.
Was the Bandra gathering communal?
No. Mumbai Police said it was mostly labourers wanting to go home. Fact-checkers found claims tying it to the Jama Masjid false or unsupported.
When did trains for migrants start?
Shramik Special trains began on 1 May 2020 and carried 63.19 lakh people by 31 August.
Sources
- The Wire: 'Let us Go Home': No Sign of Relief in PM's Speech, Migrant Workers Take to Mumbai Streets, 14 Apr 2020
- Scroll: Police baton-charge migrant workers at Mumbai's Bandra station, 14 Apr 2020
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Amit Shah speaks to Uddhav Thackeray on migrant workers at Bandra, 14 Apr 2020
- Deccan Herald: Hours after lockdown announcement, migrant workers hit streets in Surat, 14 Apr 2020
- BOOM: Migrants defying lockdown at Bandra station given communal spin, 15 Apr 2020
- The Quint: Bandra Migrant Crisis: From Misreporting to False Communal Claims, 15 Apr 2020
- Scroll: Self-proclaimed labour leader, TV journalist arrested, 15 Apr 2020
- The News Minute: Labour activist, journalist booked for rumours, 15 Apr 2020
- Deccan Herald: Youth arrested, journalist booked over Bandra migrants gathering, 15 Apr 2020
- PTI via The Wire: Mumbai man held for social media posts which police claim led to migrants gathering, 15 Apr 2020
- The Wire: Maharashtra migrant crisis, FIRs filed, 16 Apr 2020
- Alt News: ABP News v/s Rubika Liyaquat on communalising the Bandra crisis, 16 Apr 2020
- Indian Television: ABP rebuffs link between its report and migrant gathering, 17 Apr 2020
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Man held for inciting April 14 Mumbai migrant mob gets bail, 28 Apr 2020
- PTI via Tribune: Bombay HC refuses urgent order on plea over migrants' unrest, 30 Apr 2020
- LiveLaw: Bombay HC refuses plea for deployment of military, 1 May 2020
- The Wire: Mumbai Police exonerates journalist arrested for 'generating fake news', 8 Aug 2020
- Scroll: At Delhi-UP border, thousands try to squeeze into limited buses, 29 Mar 2020
- BOOM: Video of migrant workers at Delhi's Anand Vihar shared as Mumbai, 11 May 2020
- Deccan Herald: Stranded migrant workers go on a rampage in Surat, 11 Apr 2020
- PTI via Tribune: 800 Shramik Special trains run so far, 14 May 2020
- Governance Now: 3,543 Shramik Special trains transport 48 lakh people in 26 days, 28 May 2020
- Kerala Kaumudi: 97 persons died on Shramik trains, govt tells RS, 19 Sept 2020
- National Herald: 97 migrant workers died travelling on Shramik Special trains, 19 Sept 2020
- Deccan Herald: Over 64 lakh migrant labourers travelled in Shramik trains: Goyal, 17 Mar 2021