‘Delhi Police Abandoned Us on the Road,’ Claim Migrant Workers

Coronavirus | “Delhi Police left us on road with no shelter or food,” said migrant worker.

The Delhi Police abandons migrant workers on road amid lockdown, who have no food or money to pay rent. Nor is the police providing them information about Shramik trains. 

(Image: Poonam Agarwal, Shruti Mathur/The Quint)

Video Editor: Kunal Mehra

When the lockdown started on 24 March, a sea of migrant workers could be seen on the highway. Despite difficulties, they were determined to walk for hundreds of kilometres to reach their villages. But at least in Delhi, many of them were caught by the police while crossing the borders and were put in shelter homes.

But now they are being abandoned by the Delhi Police on roads.

The Quint spoke to a group of 12 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh who were working in Panipat, Haryana. Left with no food and shelter, on 12 May they decided to walk their way home. They somehow managed to enter Delhi from Haryana in a truck but were later caught by Delhi Police.

Instead of putting the migrant workers in a shelter home, the Delhi Police abandoned them on the road in Punjabi Bagh in West Delhi.

“We told police to make arrangements for us. They promised to make arrangements. Police told us to wait and left but they never came back.”   

Pappu, a migrant worker

There have been several reports of migrant workers being killed in road accidents on Uttar Pradesh highways and run over by a train in Maharashtra. Is it not the state’s responsibility to give shelter and food to workers and help them in reaching their villages safely?

The Quint contacted the Delhi Police and Delhi government for a response. We will update the article as and when we get a reply.

Watch the video for the whole story.