Thane MP Mhaske seeks action against realtors employing labourers without verification

Thane, Jan 20 (PTI) Thane Member of Parliament Naresh Mhaske has urged authorities to take immediate action against developers who employ unverified labourers at construction sites in the city, citing serious security concerns following a recent attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan.

Mhaske, a member of the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, made the demand in a letter addressed to Thane Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre.

In the letter, which Mhaske circulated to the media on Monday, he highlighted multiple violations of safety and security protocols at construction sites in the city located adjoining Mumbai.

One of the key points raised in the letter was the arrest of an individual involved in an attack on Khan at his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area on January 16 during a robbery attempt.

The Mumbai Police on Sunday (January 19) arrested a Bangladeshi national for allegedly stabbing the 54-year-old actor and leaving him seriously injured.

The accused was traced to a construction site in Thane, where he was living alongside other labourers, Mhaske pointed out.

The incident, the Lok Sabha MP maintained, underscored a significant problem in Thane's construction industry -- the lack of verification of workers' backgrounds before being employed at building sites.

Describing his personal visit to the location from where the accused was nabbed, Mhaske stated that he found hundreds of temporary huts housing thousands of workers at the construction site.

He observed that these labourers, employed by real estate developers, were staying in these huts without any prior police verification or notification.

According to Mhaske, such unregulated arrangements were common at various construction sites across Thane, posing a serious security risk to city residents.

The former Thane Mayor emphasized that developers and contractors must inform the police about the identity of individuals residing at these sites, especially those employed as labourers.

Unverified workers, including individuals from Bangladesh, could be using these sites as cover to engage in criminal activities within Thane district, he noted.

Mhaske demanded that police take urgent action to investigate developers who fail to inform authorities about people staying on their premises. PTI COR RSY