Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 10 (IANS): The Kerala Police has started a probe to identify the people behind the canards being spread about migrant labourers in Kerala, state police chief Loknath Behra told the media here on Tuesday.

Behra said the preliminary findings reveal that the canards originated from North Kerala and were meant to portray the state in a poor light.

Things took a turn on Friday, when pictures of a West Bengal youth who allegedly committed suicide, appeared in the social media. The youth was working in a hotel in Kozhikode.

Speaking to IANS, Muhammed Suhail, President of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association, Kozhikode district committee, said that the 26-year-old Bengali youth committed suicide due to some family issues.

"On Saturday, pictures of the dead youth were circulated on WhatsApp and also an audio in Hindi saying that he was beaten to death and in the interest of migrant labourers its best that they return. We immediately brought this to the attention of the media and the police," said Suhail.

Behra said the Cyber Police had already started an investigation and "the district collector and district police chief in all the districts will meet and discuss this issue and will instil confidence in the minds of the migrant labourers".

He also advised the people not to share any such rumour that appeared in the social media.

Nearly three million migrant labourers from West Bengal, Bihar and the north-east eke out a living in various sectors in Kerala, according to a study.