Thiruvananthapuram: Mystery prevailed over the origins of a social media campaign aimed at whipping up panic in Kerala, as more migrant workers decided to leave the state this week.
A majority of those leaving the state are migrants from West Bengal.
The social media postings allege migrant workers in Kerala are being ill-treated by their employers, and at least one worker has been beaten to death and his body hung up by his employer.
Similar fake articles have injected fear into migrant workers from different states.
It is estimated that about 500 migrant workers have already left the state, mostly from the hotel and restaurant sector.
Two restaurants in Kozhikode had to shut shop after key workers left the state.
Hundreds of migrant workers are employed in restaurants in Kerala, with the employers benefiting from the workers’ expertise in making chapati, roti and a variety of north Indian dishes.
The exodus began last week from Kozhikode, and most of those who left were migrants from West Bengal. This week the problem appears to have grown, and migrants are returning to their homes from Ernakulam and Kollam districts, too.
One of the early images circulated on social media that spread fear among migrants was the visual of a body, with the explanation that it was of a migrant worker beaten to death in Kerala. Ironically, that was the picture of the victim of an incident of mob violence in northern India.
The situation has turned serious enough for the police to launch an investigation into what exactly has been happening, and who is behind the hate campaign against the state on social media.
A police team under the Kozhikode South superintendent of police is probing the matter, and the team is taking help from the cyber cell to try and identify the origin of the falsehood being spread on social media.
Meanwhile, migrant workers who are convinced of the advantages of working in Kerala have started their own counter campaign against the ongoing fake news, pointing out that Kerala is a safe and remunerative place to work in.
