Unemployed migrant workers left stranded by the COVID-19 lockdown have repeatedly clashed with police in India’s industrial hub of Gujarat state, and the situation is fast escalating. Protesters demanding transport back to their homes were again attacked by police at a market on the outskirts of Surat on May 4; tear-gas canisters were met with pelted stones. (NDTV, GulfNews) Riots yet again erupted four days later in Ahmedabad, as security forces attacked residents defying stringent lockdown orders. (AFP, FirstPost)
At the request of state authorities, Delhi has dispatched to Gujarat seven companies of 100 troops each from the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). (Times of India)
Indian authorities are also facing outrage over the death of 15 migrant workers, who were killed by a freight train while sleeping on railway tracks in Maharashtra state. They had apparently taken refuge in the rail-yard in Aurangabad district to avoid police harassment for violating lockdown while attempting to walk back to their home villages in Madhya Pradesh. (Outlook, Indian Express)
Photo via Twitter
