Mangaluru police begin checking documents of migrant workers

Mangaluru: Mangaluru city police are in the process of verifying the antecedents of 518 migrant workers found to be staying here without valid documents for identification.

City police commissioner N Shashi Kumar told reporters here on Monday that the verification is being conducted under the direction of State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, who wanted the police to find out whether illegal immigrants from foreign countries like Bangladesh have sneaked into groups of migrant laborers.

Many such laborers are reportedly working in the construction industry, agricultural farms, plantations, industries, and fisheries. A week-long verification process has identified 518 migrant workers within the Commissionerate, who did not possess valid documents and are being questioned, he said.

Police have adopted 20 modalities to verify the antecedents of the migrant workers, including verification of electoral identity cards, aadhar cards, and ration cards. Police are moving cautiously while checking whether their documents are genuine or not.

If necessary, police would also check the mobile phones of the migrants to find out who they had been calling since their arrival in the city and to know the places visited by them, Kumar said, adding their bank accounts would also be verified.

Police have given a form to the 518 people who do not possess valid documents, seeking information about their native place, jurisdictional police station, and other matters related to their past activities there, Kumar said.