Thiruvananthapuram: Employers disregard police directive, go soft on documention of migrant labourers

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The probe into the murder of a migrant labourer the other day in Attingal has revealed a dangerous trend. Those who employ migrant labourers are still averse to comply with the police directive asking them to submit the details of the employees. The police investigating the murder of Vimal, a West Bengal native, came across this serious anomaly that could pose a threat to national security also.

The police said they were not even sure of the authenticity of the documents of the deceased and other than the ones recovered from the place, they had no other clues about the antecedents of the man. Worse, the investigators so far have no idea about the man who allegedly committed the murder. Amal, who is thought to be 28 years of age, was brought to work at the hollow bricks plant at Poovanpara near Attingal by the deceased. 

Police sources said the two were friends, but are clueless about other details of the suspect, who is on the run. Attingal DySP Famous Varghese said the investigation was slowed down because they had not much information on the accused. “The hollow bricks factory owner was clueless about both the workers,” said Famous. Nevertheless, the police were relying on technical intelligence to nab the culprit, he said. The DySP said despite the police directive, many of the employers are still not ready to part with information on their employees with the police.

“Documentation of migrant labourers is a must. In certain pockets like Perumbavoor, where the concentration of migrant labourers is high, the shop owners and employers cooperate with the police and hand over details like their account number, photographs, address proof, etc. But in several other parts of the state, this practice is yet to pick up,” he said. 

Famous reiterated the need for mounting a better vigilance on the other-state workers as he felt even people from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh could sneak in the disguise of a West Bengal native.
“There were instances where Bangladesh natives forged documents and worked in the state as Indian citizens. Several such cases have been detected,” he said.

A Special Branch Officer said there were gangs who were into the business of forging documents after charging a nominal fee, and they help the illegal migrants work in Kerala posing as citizens of the country.“Such gangs mostly operate in West Bengal. Hence, we advice caution while checking the documents of the migrant labourers,” he said.