Murder of 5-year-old rocks Kerala; public turns angry gaze at migrants, seeks strict laws
* On April 28 2016, Jisha, a Dalit law student in Ernakulam district, was raped and murdered at her residence. The incident led to the downfall of not only the ruling UDF but also the local MLA Saju Paul of CPI(M), who lost his seat despite his party gaining power in the state. Amirul Islam, a migrant labourer from Assam, was sentenced to death by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court for the crime after a yearlong trial.
*On November 27 2019, Umar Ali from Assam was charged with the murder of a 42-year-old woman in Perumbavoor, Ernakulam. Three years later, he was awarded life sentence for the crime and has been lodged in the central prison of Viyyur.
*On August 7 2022, a 60-year-old housewife named Manorama was allegedly murdered in the Kesavadasapuram area of Thiruvananthapuram. The alleged perpetrator was identified as Adam Ali, a migrant worker from West Bengal. Manorama’s body was discovered dumped in a well near her house. Police during investigation found that cash and jewellery kept in the victim’s house were also missing. Adam was apprehended by Tamil Nadu Police after a week of the crime and handed over to Kerala Police.
In a latest incident, a five-year-old girl from Bihar was abducted, brutally raped and murdered, allegedly by a neighbour, a migrant worker also from Bihar, near Kochi. Her lifeless body packed in a sack was found discarded in the nearby Aluva area. The accused had been arrested and been sent to judicial custody.
The common thread in all the above cases is that the perpetrator was a migrant worker residing in the same community as the victim.
The July 28 rape and murder case has rekindled the debate on migrant workers in the state, with several sections of society calling for the social boycott of a particular community who they hold responsible for crimes, and others demanding the state government to harden rules governing migrants.
Also read: Kerala: 5-year-old girl raped, murdered; ‘sorry daughter’, say police
159 migrants involved in murders since 2016: Data
According to the data available with the Kerala assembly, from 2016 to October 2022, a total of 159 migrant laborers have been implicated in different murder cases throughout the state. According to the data from the state crimes record bureau, a total of 31,364 cases were registered for crimes against children over a span of seven years and seven months, starting from 2016. The number of cognizable crimes committed against children this year until July is 2,124, including seven murder and 691 POCSO cases.
The recent heinous crime carried out by a migrant labourer named, Asfaq Alam, believed to be from Bihar, has sparked intense reactions from different quarters. Many celebrities and social media influencers have expressed their anger, demanding capital punishment for the perpetrator.
While social media platforms are awash with angry posts, some have gone into campaign mode in their reporting and covering the situation from the ‘ground zero’, which is the dumping yard of the municipal market in Aluva from where the five-year-old’s body was recovered.
Right-wing activists target Bengali Muslims
Right-wing trolls on social media have called for the social boycott of migrant workers, especially Bangla-speaking Muslims.
Using the situation to push their agenda for citizenship register, the BJP has blamed the Left government of going too soft on Bangladeshi refugees who come to the state in search of work.
Also read: Kerala Police launch manhunt after college student drugged, raped
“The Opposition should understand the importance of implementing a citizenship register. Such a registration process only would aid in identifying individuals, including Bangladeshi nationals, who might be engaged in illegal activities like drug trafficking and criminal behaviour while coming to Kerala as guest workers,” says B Gopalakrishnan, the state vice president of BJP.
Govt mulls stricter regulations for migrant workers
The gruesome crime has also prompted the government to reflect on tweaks to regulations governing migrant workers coming to Kerala. The state government has already started considering making a mandatory police clearance for migrant workers entering the state.
“We are considering the potential implementation of compulsory registration for migrant laborers. The labour department is actively working on the details,” said V Sivan Kutty, the state minister for labour affairs.
At present, over five lakh migrant workers have been enrolled in the Avaaz insurance scheme, and the remaining workers will also be identified and registered. According to the current regulations, registration is mandatory only if there are more than five migrant workers employed under a contractor. To facilitate this registration process, an application called ‘Athithi’ will be launched.
Also read: Rape at needle-point: Kerala tattoo artist arrested after 6 clients file FIRs
As per a survey by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation a decade ago, the migrant worker population in Kerala was around 25 lakh. However, after COVID, the State Planning Board revised it as 35 lakh. However, these figures cannot be considered accurate since there is no mandatory registration in place for labour migration.
Following the girl’s death, the police and excise departments have been actively conducting raids at migrant workers’ habitats to crack down on illegal drugs and illicit alcohol. Though the police managed to apprehend some, Aluva residents believe these efforts are just superficial and they expect things to return to their previous state soon or later.
“The government must have a comprehensive strategy and set up initiatives aimed at integrating migrant workers into the state’s workforce,” says a senior police officer, seeking anonymity.
