Police are often left with no clue to pursue investigations in the offences committed by migrant workers.
As migrant workers find it to easy to commit an offence and shift their place of residence and work, the police are now focusing on profiling the migrant workers and creating a data base of those who are in the city.
As business and industry continues to face manpower crunch, they are left with no other option but to source workers from backward districts and North Indian States.
Of late, industries of all sorts and business establishments including hotels and restaurants have started sourcing manpower through manpower consultants.
The employers provide shelter and employment to the migrants who work in their establishments.
Recently, there have been complaints of migrant workers who had come to the city from North India indulging in harassment of women in the neighbourhood.
In addition to this, there were also charges of molestation by such people.
The latest in the list was an attempt at performing unnatural acts with a calf.
The migrant workers were found to be involved even in other property crimes.
The problem of migrant workers with criminal bent of mind was on the rise in Coimbatore City, Coimbatore Rural District and Tirupur.
City Police Commissioner Amaresh Pujari told The Hindu that the police had to play a role now in profiling the workers and creating a data base only because the employers never bothered to verify the antecedents of the people they wanted to employ. They did not collect details about the workers and merely employee them in their establishments.
No records are maintained about them. When police tighten their grip in the event of an offence, the employers often point their fingers at man power contractors who also seldom bother to collect details from the workers they bring from other States.
Earlier, Tirupur prior to bifurcation as a separate district, contributed around 40 to 50 per cent of the composite Coimbatore district's crime.
Police repeatedly sensitised the hosiery and knitwear industry to bring about a mechanism of collecting details about the workers when hired.
Mr.Pujari said that in Coimbatore City all the 15 police station officials have been asked to talk to the employers in their police limits.
All employers will be asked to collect the photographs and details about the migrant workers employed by them such as address and at least one proof to support their claim. Police will verify the details provided by the employers and manpower contractors.
The data collection process will be completed before September end.
All the data collected will be compiled into a database.
The details furnished by the worker to the employer and manpower contractor will be verified with their native districts in other States.
In the event of an offence committed by a migrant worker, the details and the photograph will be of immense help in tracking the offender, Mr.Pujari said.
In addition, the very fact that the employer and police have the details and photographs will have a deterrent effect and the workers may not indulge in an offence.
Superintendent of Police – Coimbatore Rural District E.S. Uma said that the police officers in all the police limits in the district have been asked to collect the particulars of the migrant workers and maintain them at the police station.
Police officers at the field level have been asked to periodically update the data by including the new workers coming in as many of them come on temporary jobs.
