Acting tough against its striking employees, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday directed the police to check attendance in offices, prepare dossiers and videograph "trouble-makers".

The fresh order came after the employees remained on strike for the sixth day undeterred by the state government invoking Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and arresting over 37 union leaders, spearheading the stir to demand payment of sixth pay commission arrears.

"All deputy commissioners and senior superintendents of police in Jammu are directed to activate mobile inspection teams/squads constituted for the purpose to check attendance and file reports to the office of the Divisional Commissioner by 1600 hours daily," a notification issued by the divisional commissioner Jammu Pawan Kotwal said.

About 4.5 lakh state government and PSU employees are on strike from April 3. In a strong step, the government invoked ESMA on Monday night "with no work no pay formula" but the agitationists extended their stir till April 13.

Over 37 leaders representing different unions of government departments were arrested yesterday in various parts of the state including Jammu, Srinagar, Samba, Kathua, Anantnag and Pulwama.

All heads of the departments concerned are directed to take control of the attendance registers of their employees and keep a note of attendance of employees by themselves, both the arrival and departure time, he said.

The names and designations of the employees who disrupt essential services or instigate other employees to not to work or did not work despite marking presence in the attendance registers, shall be conveyed to the administrative secretaries of their departments for action under ESMA, Kotwal said.

Separate dossiers and confidential reports should be prepared on habitual trouble-makers who tend to disrupt essential services or instigate employees to disrupt them, he said.

DCs and SSPs have also been asked to get activities of such people videograph, he said.