Recurrent clashes among migrant workers on the rise in Kozhikode

Dangerous clashes involving migrant workers from different States are witnessing an increase in Kozhikode district, prompting various residents’ forums, local clubs and youth organisations to seek the intervention of the police. Reports from law enforcement and local administrators indicate that drug-related offences, wage disputes, competitions for contracts and poor living conditions continue to trigger such incidents. 

The latest in the series of incidents was the death of a migrant worker from Jharkhand who was stabbed to death allegedly by his co-workers at Ekarool near Balussery on October 13. Last month, a 23-year-old migrant worker from West Bengal was found hacked to death at Mukkom. In another incident, two migrant workers were arrested at Chalappuram for allegedly assaulting a 15-year-old girl returning from tuition classes.

“Between 2016 and 2023, the total number of criminal cases involving migrant workers in Kerala was 5,202. Of them, 161 cases were related to murders. The figures between 2023 and 2025 would be available soon for reviewing the latest situation,” said a retired police officer who was part of tracking various crimes involving the migrant workers in the State. There were even incidents in which the police arrested history-sheeters among migrant workers who secretly stayed in various labour camps in Kerala, he pointed out.

Police and labour department sources reveal that group altercations among workers often stem from disputes over wages and competition from labour contracts in areas previously dominated by specific State groups. The presence of migrants with criminal backgrounds from their home States, disputes over personal relationships, and allegations of theft or misconduct have also been cited as causes of violence.

“Drug trafficking and abuse remain closely linked to these clashes. The figures with the District Crime Records Bureau itself reveal that Kozhikode registered 1,505 narcotic cases in the first half of 2025,” said a senior police officer with the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force. He said the total number of suspects, including migrant workers, arrested in connection with such incidents was 1,603. According to him, the majority of the migrant workers nabbed in such cases were from West Bengal, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh.

A local body member from Koodaranji panchayat said the unhygienic accommodations, lack of basic facilities, long working hours and overcrowded labour camps were found transforming many migrant workers “hostile and disgruntled.” He said the panchayat had adopted several surveillance measures with the support of the police, noticing such unhealthy changes and the labourers’ frequent involvement in drug trafficking cases.

Meanwhile, some of the migrant workers have come up with complaints about the ill treatment they faced from local communities and contractors. A young migrant worker from Madhya Pradesh who is temporarily settled at Kuttikkattoor said many of them were living in fear with the increasing incidents of “social harassment” in the name of various clashes. He also alleged that the police were not properly listening to their grievances.