Karnataka 14 April - Migrant workers are continuously committing incidents in various states. In this regard, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Monday that he will hold a joint meeting of the Home and Labour departments with Labour Minister Santosh Lad, in which steps that can be taken regarding the increasing number of crimes related to migrant workers from other states will be discussed.
He said that workers coming to Karnataka from other states cannot be stopped, but there is a need to pay attention to the criminal activities related to them and take action against them. This statement by the state Home Minister comes in the wake of the involvement of 35-year-old Ritesh Kumar, a resident of Patna, Bihar, in the alleged kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old girl in Hubballi. Kumar died in police firing on Sunday.
In response to a question, Parameshwara said that people coming from other parts of the country are more involved in such crimes. He said, "Laborers are coming from different parts of the country because Bengaluru is the fastest growing city in the entire Karnataka. In many cases, we see that they are involved in criminal activities. We definitely need to look into this. I will discuss this with the Labour Minister and the concerned officials and see what we can do," he said, "We cannot stop the workers coming from different states, but we can definitely take some steps. I will discuss this with the Labour Minister. We will hold a joint meeting (of the Home and Labour departments) to see what measures can be taken.”
Describing the kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old girl by a Bihari man in Hubballi on Sunday as a “horrific incident”, the Home Minister said the police arrested the accused within a short time and when the accused was taken to the place where he lived to collect evidence, he suddenly attacked the police. The police opened fire on him in self-defence, though the accused died on the way to the hospital.
“I have ordered an investigation by a senior officer to bring out the facts,” he said. On the arrest of a suspect in connection with the molestation of a woman in Sudaguntepalya earlier this month, Parameshwara said he has been kept in Kerala and is being brought to Bengaluru and further investigation will be carried out.
Bengaluru Police on Sunday said that after a week-long search, they have traced 29-year-old Santosh D., a resident of Gulbarga Colony near Tilaknagar in Kozhikode, Kerala, who allegedly molested a college student who was passing by on the road in Sudaguntepalya on April 3. According to the police, the suspect worked as a driver at an automobile showroom near Brookfield.