Mangaluru City Police have taken three individuals into custody following a disturbing assault on a migrant laborer from Jharkhand. The incident occurred on Sunday when four men allegedly attacked the worker, accusing him of being a Bangladeshi national.
Police Action and Arrest Details
Officers identified the arrested suspects as Rateesh Das, aged 32, Dhanush, 24, and Sagar, 24, all residents of Kulur. A dedicated police team executed the arrests under the supervision of Mangaluru North Sub division ACP Shrikanth K. Kavoor Police Inspector Raghavendra Byndoor and PSI Mallikharjun Biradara led the operation on the ground.
Victim's Account of the Assault
The victim, Diljan Ansari, provided a harrowing description of the attack. Ansari has worked in Mangaluru for four to six months each year over the past decade to fifteen years. He stated that the accused demanded he show identity documents and made unnecessary remarks during the confrontation.
When Ansari insisted he was not Bangladeshi, the situation escalated violently. The assailants used a trowel he was carrying to assault him, causing physical harm.
Political Condemnation and Economic Warnings
B K Imtiyaz, the DYFI District President, strongly condemned the attack. He emphasized the critical role of North Indian workers in the district's industrial and manufacturing sectors. Without their labor, many local industries and enterprises would struggle to function effectively.
Imtiyaz warned that such assaults on migrant workers could severely damage the district's economy. They also threaten the atmosphere of social harmony that Mangaluru relies upon.
Concerns Over Secularism and Religious Freedom
Muneer Katipalla, Secretary of CPI(M) in Dakshina Kannada, expressed deep concern about broader patterns. He highlighted incidents where migrant workers and strangers face pressure to chant religious slogans like "Jai Shri Ram" from communal miscreants.
Katipalla argued this practice undermines the foundations of secularism and religious freedom. He described it as a highly alarming development for the region.
Historical Context and Political Criticism
Similar violent incidents have occurred before, such as the Ashraf Wayanad mob lynching case near Kudupu. Katipalla pointed out a striking irony in current political dynamics.
While Congress-led state government officials, including the chief minister and deputy chief minister, participated in a coastal tourism conclave in Mangaluru, BJP MLAs and MPs joined them enthusiastically. At the same time, frenzied cadres appear to carry out violence against migrant workers and Muslims.
This creates fear and projects a negative image of Mangaluru, according to Katipalla. He criticized what he called double-faced politics, noting that many leaders employ migrant workers at lower wages in their own businesses instead of hiring local labor.
Katipalla called for rejecting this hypocrisy. He urged condemnation of hooliganism disguised under masks of religion and patriotism.
