Arrey Bhaiya, cycle ₹3,000 keliye bech do. Aage Jaoge toh police seize kardega (brother sell the cycle, the police will seize the vehicle if you go ahead).
This seems to be a common advice, with a threatening tone that many migrant labourers, heading towards the Andhra Pradesh border, hear while pedalling on the Grand Northern Trunk (GNT) Road.
Some people have been trying to purchase the new cycles for cheap prices from the migrant workers by making them believe that police would seize their cycle and send them away.
One such group was trying to bargain with a group of migrant labourers from Jharkhand near Panjetty on the GNT Road. “We purchased the cycle for ₹5,000 on Wednesday hoping to cycle to our hometown. One person stopped us and asked us to sell the cycle for ₹3,000. He told us that the Sholavaram sub-inspector was coming to seize our vehicles and wanted us to sell it before he comes,” said Sanjay Mahato, a migrant worker.
Meanwhile, the Tiruvallur district administration came to know about the incident and rescued the labourers. They were taken to a shelter in Padianallur. “They will be sent to their hometown at the earliest,” said an official.
Pawan Kumar Reddy, ASP, Ponneri, said that the workers would be allowed to take the cycles with them. “Our police team will patrol the highway to ensure the migrant labourers are not cheated,” he said.
S. Tilak Raj, from Sevai Karangal, NGO, said that a few people were trying to take advantage of the situation. “A similar incident happened near Kavarapettai also. They try to exploit the workers as they are in need of money,” he said.
