Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala (SP)

Karkala, May 22: In an incident which happened near Pulkery Bypass near here, locals found that migrant workers were being transported to Rajasthan in a goods container vehicle from Mangaluru. The police were informed, and the workers and staff of the truck were taken into custody by the police on Thursday late night. 

The goods container belongs to a logistics firm and bore Rajasthan registration number. The driver of the vehicle confessed before the police that 16 migrant workers who were stranded in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district were being transported clandestinely to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The container had brought pulses from Rajasthan to Mangaluru. The empty container was to return to Rajasthan. During the return journey, the driver reportedly contacted workers who had come to coastal Karnataka searching for jobs and were struck at Mangaluru, Udupi, Kundapur etc. He had collected money from them to take them to destinations in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, it is learnt. Twelve from Mangaluru and four from Udupi were travelling by the vehicle.

The police have confiscated the container vehicle.