KIZHAKKAMBALAM(KOCHI): Even as the police arrested 164 migrant workers of Kitex Group for the violence at Kizhakkambalam, many questions remain unanswered. While the police claimed that all the arrested workers — mostly from Manipur, Assam, Jharkhand and Nagaland — were directly involved in the violence, it’s not clear as to how they zeroed in on them with Kitex Group MD Sabu M Jacob saying that CCTV footage showed the involvement of only 23. He said of the arrested, he does not know 12 persons and their details are not in the company database.
“We don’t know from where these 12 have come. There should be an impartial probe into the mystery,” Sabu said, alleging the police held 151 labourers without any evidence. Eyewitnesses told a TNIE team which visited the place that the police had acted in haste in picking up the migrant workers from the labour camp.
“Around 3am on Sunday, a posse of police officers barged into the camp and picked up several workers who were not involved in the violence. They avoided nabbing Malayali workers,” said a labourer, who has been staying in the camp for the past seven years.
When contacted, a senior police officer said they could not find any Malayalis in the camp. “Also, Malayalis generally avoid getting involved in such situations. People from northeastern states have this resentment against officers in uniform. Since they were in an inebriated state, the bitter feeling came out,” he said.
The arrested belonged to 10 different states in the country. The police took labourers into custody only from quarters 10, 11, and 12 while there was a total of 984 labourers housed in 12 quarters.
FIR says migrant workers cost police dept Rs 12.05 lakh
Meanwhile, the police have started producing the arrested before the court. “We’re probing whether more persons are involved in the incident,” said another officer. The FIR says around 200 migrant workers assembled unlawfully with the sole intention of attacking police officials and vandalising official vehicles causing a loss of Rs 12.05 lakh.
The FIR adds the migrant workers assembled unlawfully on December 25 around 11.45pm in front of the labour camp of Kitex Garments at Choorakode and attacked the police. When the police jeep arrived at the spot, around 200 migrant workers, who could be identified, surrounded the vehicle and roughed up Assistant Sub-Inspector Sivadasan. Civil police officers Nishad and Rajeesh, who were in the vehicle, were also attacked.
One of the assailants hit the head of SI Sajan with a stone and grabbed the key of the police vehicle. Subsequently, more police personnel arrived following an alert. When SHO V T Shajan reached the spot, around 100 workers intercepted his vehicle and roughed him up and other police personnel in the vehicle. The workers also set ablaze a police jeep of Kunnathunadu police station bearing the registration number KL-01-CH-7141 and destructed a wireless set and tablet.
They vandalised a police jeep of Edathala police station, broke the glass panes of a police bus and the official vehicle of SHO, said the FIR. The accused have been booked for unlawful assembly, rioting armed with a deadly weapon, causing hurt to deter public servant from discharging his duty and causing death or hurt. Chalakudy MP Benny Behanan urged the government to book Sabu, who openly admitted that his workers were under the influence of drugs. “The company owner has criminalised the workers. He should be booked,” he said. Sabu alleged there was some conspiracy to finish off the Kitex Group and Twenty20, his political outfit.