KOCHI: With a drastic increase in the inflow of migrant labourers from the North and the North-East, the police are alarmed at their involvement in various crime cases in the city. Last year a suspected Maoist activist Azadul was arrested while attempting to transact fake currency of Rs. 500 denomination at a shop at Kaloor. During investigation it was found that the group to which he belonged had travelled extensively across the country under the guise of migrant labourers and spent fake currency notes in Kolkatta, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Aluva and Ernakulam.“It is hard to detect these groups, as they do not stay for long at a place. And they remain under the cover of migrant labourers. Another major peril with these people is that they never belong to any construction companies. They are brought by agents who never take the responsibility of these people. There are high chances that Maoist and other wanted persons can land in the state easily,” a highly placed intelligence official said.Data from police records say that there were 20 cases involving migrant labourers this year. Most of the cases involving the migrants were related to drug and ganja peddling. They were also involved in cases related to counterfeit notes and robberies. There were also many cases of infighting among them. According to an NGO official, the agents who bring the migrants are to be blamed for the rising crime cases. “The agents who have connections in north and north-east states bring these people here. But these agents fail to provide basic facilities to the labourers. It is the responsibility of the agents to register the data regarding the migrants with the police. The police have no idea about how many migrant labourers arrive in the city every month. When any accident or death occurs the agents wash their hands of and NGOs and the police have to take the responsibility of rescuing them,” sources said.City Police Commissioner M R Ajith Kumar said that the registration activities still exist and the police are strict regarding migrant registration and related issues. The registrations are done on a regular basis when they arrive in the city, he said.
Comments
0 comment