Tamil Nadu railway police said about 300 people from Manipur, Assam and Nagaland left Coimbatore over the past two days; and over 1,500 people could have left Chennai through trains, many from Chennai’s suburbs and Kancheepuram, said a Southern Railway official on Friday.

Several groups of students and workers from the Northeast have been leaving Coimbatore to their homeland amid fears of a backlash for the attacks in Assam.

Mr Rudra Kodo, working at Sidco industrial estate, waiting at Coimbatore Junction on Friday night to board a train to Guwahati, said they were not fleeing out of fear. “Our families are worried and want us to return.” He added that they might also not come back. Manipuri youngsters working at a hotel as waiters/cleaners in Coimbatore were leaving for the same reason.

Mr Mithra Sharma of Assam, taking with him about 30 people, said in Chennai, “Most of us work in companies and construction sites near Mogappair and Ambattur. Though there were no cases of violence or assaults, locals verbally abuse us and we feel unsafe.”

“All three special trains operated by South Central Railway arrived in Chennai fully packed and additional coaches were added,” a senior Southern Railway official said. Two more special trains are arriving Friday night and will get additional coaches. But Gorkha K. Shashank from Assam says, “My wife called me this morning and asked me to leave Chennai, but I told her there is nothing to worry and I have decided to continue my security job at a private school in Vepery.”

Reassure NE people of safety, Kanimozhi urges Centre

DMK MP Kanimozhi on Friday called for ‘pro-active and long-term’ action by the Union government to reassure the people of their safety wherever they chose to live. Only when people understand and respect each other’s culture and religion would there be peace, she said during the debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Assam violence.

Ms Kanimozhi pointed out that curtailing social media like the Facebook and Twitter would not solve the problem as there had been riots even before the advent of social media, through word of mouth. Placing any control over the social media would amount to taking the clock back on science and technology, she said.

AIADMK MP, Dr V. Meitreyan, said the recent incidents of violence in Assam, vandalism in Mumbai and the exodus of northeast people from certain parts of the country caused huge concern.

Pointing out that Tamil Nadu was a haven of peace, he urged the Centre to take quick remedial measures. “Time is running out. If you do not act now, you will repent eternally”, he said, addressing the treasury benches.

Chennai is safe, says top cop

City police commissioner J.K. Tripathy on Friday assured representatives of the people of Assamese origin that the city was safe, as always, and there was no need to panic over rumours of violence against people of northeastern states.

Two joint commissioners of police went to railway stations on Friday night to tell the fleeing people that Chennai will take care of them. “We want to convey to the people, rushing to their states in the NE, that Chennai is a safe place. Our officials are trying to convince them to cancel their travel plans,” a police officer said.

“There was not a single incident of violence against northeast people in Chennai. To instil confidence and extend support we are setting up special control room numbers,” he said.