A 36-year-old Dalit migrant labourer from Bihar’s East Champaran district was lynched on suspicion of burglary in Kerala’s Mallapuram.
Rajesh Manjhi was brutally thrashed by at least 8 people on Saturday at around 12 am. For almost two hours, he was tortured and mercilessly beaten with pipes and sticks and was then thrown outside a shop at around 2.30 am. An hour later, the police were informed about the incident. The authorities took the critically injured Manjhi, whose hands were found tied, to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. The body was shifted to Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, where the postmortem was done.
Nine people were arrested including one for tampering with evidence and deleting surveillance camera footage.
The group of people at Kizhisseri, near Kondotty, in Malappuram district, blamed the labourer for theft. It was later found that Rajesh Manjhi went to Malappuram to work at a chicken farm at Kizhisseri a few days back.
Kondotty sub-inspector Faatil Rehman informed CNN-News18 that nine people were arrested and charges under sections 302 (murder), 342 (wrongful confinement), 143, 147,149 and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code were applied.
The accused persons are Mohd Afsal, Fasil, Sharafuddin, Mehboob, Abdussamad, Nasar, Habeeb, Ayoob, and Zainul Abid, all hailing from Kizhisseri.
According to the police, it is a case of murder and the postmortem report revealed merciless beating by the men with blunt objects like wooden sticks and plastic pipes. Manjhi died of multiple internal injuries with broken ribs in the attack.
A special investigation team (SIT) was formed under the leadership of additional superintendent of police (ASP), Kondotty, V Vijaya Bharath Reddy, to inquire into the case. The police said they were looking into all aspects and were examining various CCTV footage from the area.
The family of the deceased migrant worker has been informed about his death.
Briefing about the horrific incident, Malappuram superintendent of police Sujith Das said, “The accused bound and assaulted the victim with sticks and plastic pipes. We have gathered evidence, including pictures, from the accused’s phones. They attempted to destroy evidence, including CCTV footage,”
ASP Reddy said, “The people detained claim that the migrant worker fell from the first floor of a house after a failed theft attempt. They apprehended and attacked the boy for over an hour after he fell from the building (home).”
Bihar’s minister of social welfare Madan Sahni while speaking to CNN-News18 said, “It’s a horrific incident. No government wants its people to suffer like this. I appeal to the Kerala government to take the strictest action possible so that justice is given to the aggrieved family. Some men feel proud to kill innocent and unarmed persons and then they hide the facts. Why would anyone get involved in theft if he had gone to another state to earn a living? The state government cannot compensate the family of the departed soul but we will give them monetary assistance according to the migrant labour law.”
Similar incidents in Kerala
In February 2018, a poor tribal youth named Madhu was lynched by a mob in Kerala’s Attapady over suspicion of theft of food items. Images that emerged later showed a man brazenly taking a selfie right before lynching Madhu.
In July 2018, a migrant labourer from West Bengal died after he was attacked by two men who accused him of stealing a hen. 50-year-old Manik Roy died following an injury to his head which he had sustained during the attack and was allegedly left untreated.
In 2016, Kailas Jyothy Behra, a labourer, was beaten to death at Chiravamuttam village in Kottayam district of Kerala. Behra, who was mistaken for a thief, was lynched by a mob, and about 50 persons stood watching the migrant with his hands tied slowly die in the scorching sun.
In 2015, labourer Jagabandhu Karkaria from the Rayagada district of Odisha was murdered by a bakery owner in Thrissur in Kerala.
Vulnerabilities of migrant labourers
According to the Indian Journal of Research, there is evidence that the migrant community is very vulnerable to exploitation because of their lack of awareness and their willingness to compromise for a comparatively better life.
As per some reports, migrants have a difficult life in Kerala. Perumbavoor is one of the largest migrant settlements in the state, where the migrants work for 12-14 hours a day. They cook, eat, and sleep in open spaces. The lack of awareness of labour rules and regulations among migrant workers results in their exploitation by middlemen and contractors. There are also cases of low pay, long hours of work, and substandard accommodation. Illegal wage deductions by exploitative employers and subcontractors also make the life of migrants tough in the state.
Critics say migrant labourers are usually employed in ‘3D’ jobs— dangerous, dirty and degrading—and there are diseases and injuries that come as add-ons.
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