In what appears to be part of the increasing cases of conflict between local people and migrant workers, two labourers from Assam - Diban Co (24) and Jithu (26) , working in a rubber unit at Kaduvakkulam near here were manhandled by local people and handed over to police following a fracas.
According to Chingavanom police, the two have been taken to Taluk Hospital, Changanassery.
The two had been working for a rubber unit for the past six years, the police said.
According to a local resident Arun, two migrant workers in an inebriated situation had arrived at his house and misbehaved.
This resulted in a fisticuff. Mr. Arun said the two were having a brawl after coming out of the toddy shop nearby and Arun’s brother and his friend had intervened to disperse them.
The migrant workers had arrived to question the youngsters’ behaviour. After restraining them he had informed the police who arrived and took them into custody, Mr. Arun said.
However, the police give a different version. According to Chingavanom police, two of the migrant labourers had received injuries on their body and were manhandled by the local people. They were taken to hospital for medical check up.
Fisticuffs
Meanwhile, another witness said that there was a fisticuff between migrant labourers on Sunday afternoon in front of the toddy shop.
Then two persons, one of them the brother of Arun who was driving the bike and his pillion rider arrived at the spot and tried to forcibly disperse the migrant labourers at the scene.
It was following this that the migrant labourers returned to Arun’s house and misbehaved.
He said that there had been an underlying animosity between the local people and migrant labourers in the area for the past many years.
The two who have been involved in today’s incident were among those migrant labourers who were staying in a nearby house.
Recently the rubber unit management had to fence off the area following complaints from neighbours. They were working for a private rubber unit.
The police said they were here for the past six years.
The police who have taken the migrant labourers into custody said they have not registered any case.
They were looking into the issues involved and would register cases against both the parties, if need be, the police said.
The conflict among migrant labourers and local people are on the rise.
Killed
It was on May 5 that Jyothi Bhera a 30-year-old person from Assam, seeking job in Kerala, was beaten to death by local people at Chingavanom.
