Spraying disinfectant on migrants indecent, actions should be taken against guilty: UP CM

Terming the hosing down of home-bound migrants with a chlorine solution in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district "rude and indecent", Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath instructed officials on Tuesday to initiate strict action against the guilty, a senior state government official said.

The incident, caught on video and shared on social media, took place at Bareilly's Satellite bus station on Sunday.

A state government official has argued that such spraying of people is permitted internationally. But the authorities did not follow the right procedure, he said.

However, a fire brigade official said the migrants were sprayed with a solution containing sodium hypochlorite. It is often used to keep swimming pools sanitised.

On Tuesday, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi told reporters, "The Uttar Pradesh chief minister has termed the incident as 'ashisth' (rude) and 'abhadra' (indecent). He instructed that actions should be initiated against the guilty persons, and said that such acts should not be repeated."