After the sexual assault and murder of a five-year-old girl in Aluva, a suburban town in Ernakulam district of Kerala, by Bihar-native Asfaq Alam, the state witnessed discussions over the need for increased surveillance of backgrounds of migrant labourers to ensure they have no criminal antecedents. News reports explained how the lack of credible governmental data on all migrant labourers in the state allegedly allowed an easy pass for criminals from other states. A state minister announced that the government is mulling legislation to make registration of migrant workers mandatory.
Retired police officers appeared on channel discussions to say that many migrant workers in the state are those with criminal backgrounds who wanted to escape law in their home states. Participants of these debates also spoke about the alleged high consumption of alcohol and drugs among the migrant population. The Excise Department in Ernakulam district sprung into action with raids in the residences of migrant labourers in several places.
All this potentially feeds into the popular conception of migrant labourers as a homogenous group with criminal backgrounds and issues of drug abuse.
TNM visited locations in Aluva, including the market where the crime was committed, the locality where the girl’s family resided, and the Thaikkattukara school in which she was a Class 1 student. While several persons who spoke to TNM said that the area behind Aluva market, on the bank of the Periyar, regularly witnesses persons congregating to consume alcohol in the evenings, most of them vouched for the fact that they never faced issues from the many migrant workers they interact with on a daily basis.
Shameer, a migrant worker from Kolkata who works in a wholesale vegetable shop in the market, said that he has not felt unsafe in the wake of the crime. He added that he has been working in Kerala for the past five years. “The shop owner asked for our ID cards on Monday morning. I do not know what it was for. I possess all the required identification documents,” he said. When the Malayali workers around him explained to him that it could be in case there is police checking, he nodded in understanding. Shameer said that the police had conducted searches in the residences of some of his acquaintances and verified their ID cards that morning. The Malayali workers were quick to add that all the migrant workers in the market have not caused any trouble in the many years that they have been working there.
Thajudheen, a headload worker in the market and a witness in the case, who saw the accused take the child to the isolated area behind the market on Friday afternoon, said that this one case shouldnt be taken to judge the whole community of migrant workers in the state. “There are more than 200 migrant labourers in the market. We all coexist happily, and without any trouble,” he said. “If a Malayali commits a crime in another land, should all Malayalis get branded as criminals. One person doing a wrong should not be the reason to judge the entire community. Numerous migrant labourers, both from north India and from Tamil Nadu, have been working here for years. They come here seeking a livelihood. There have been absolutely no issues here because of them. It is not right to brand them all as criminals,” he added.
“The excise and police should conduct checks, ensure that things are going well — all that is required. If the flow of drugs is solved, a lot of crimes can be solved,” Thajudheen said, citing the examples of crimes committed by Malayalis under the alleged influence of drugs. They also pointed to other issues like poor housing that is offered to migrant labourers. “Rooms are crammed with migrant labourers and house owners reap profits by renting small spaces to more people than they can hold. When that happens, often even the house owner is unaware of who all live in the building. Issues like this should be addressed by the respective panchayat or municipality,” he added.
Ambika PS, an Anganwadi worker in Thaikkattukara, said that it is not right to categorise migrant workers as those with criminal tendencies due to this incident. “Even among Malayalis, take people from all walks of life and you will find good and bad people. There may be a rare case of a criminal among the migrants, and that has caused all of them to hang their head in shame,” she said. The Thaikkattukara Anganwadi used to have five migrant children until last year, of whom four joined Lower Primary school this year, she said. “The migrant parents work and raise their children just like we do. They all live in great cooperation with their Malayali neighbours,” she said.
Sirajudheen, the Parent Teacher Association president of the school where the deceased child studied, was of the opinion that alcohol and drug usage is a major cause of crimes, among people of all communities.
The school headmistress said that 22 migrant children study there from kindergarten to class 4. “All of the families cooperate very well with the school and teachers, and want a good education for their children,” she said.
Haneefa, a scrap dealer in the Aluva market who has also rented rooms to migrant labourers, said that he gives rooms only after verifying identity cards. “The crime that took place here is an isolated one. We have faced nothing untoward from any of our tenants. A Malayali also lives with them, and I have entrusted him with ensuring that no issues come up. We don't even allow drinking in our building,” he said.
Workers in the market and auto drivers in the locality pointed to the Municipality’s halted market building project as one of the main reasons why it has turned into the haunt of ‘anti-social’ activities in the recent years. The area between the market and the Periyar river, where the accused Asfaq Alam allegedly assaulted and murdered the child, used to house the market building and a comfort station several years ago. An autorickshaw driver who did not wish to be named said, “The demolition of the buildings resulted in the area being used as a space to dump waste. Add to it the lack of a proper waste treatment mechanism. No one bothers to go there, hence making it a safe hideout for people to drink in the evenings,” he said.
“The existing market building and comfort station was demolished nine years ago with the promise of a new building. Nothing has been done so far. Every now and then, we go to the Municipality office to stage a protest against this. That’s that. For nine years, no progress has been made in the proposed construction. As a result, the vacant land has become the place where people, especially migrants, gather in the evening to drink or use drugs. It is in this same abandoned spot that Friday’s crime took place,” the workers told TNM.
The Excise Department in Ernakulam received orders from the Commissioner to conduct raids at the residents of migrant labourers on Monday, July 31. Besides this, the department has decided to appoint bilingual resource persons in all districts to raise awareness against the use of drugs among them. Aluva Excise range Inspector said that around 50 locations where migrant labourers lived in groups were raided simultaneously on Monday morning. “We received orders from the Commissioner to conduct raids in the light of the child’s murder,” he said. He added that one case of ganja and four cases under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act were registered. Similar raids were conducted across the district.