Bengal migrants’ detention illegal: TMC; Odisha refutes

Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: The TMC Wednesday alleged that the BJP government in Odisha has illegally detained Bengali-speaking migrant workers on the pretext of identifying unauthorised immigrants, despite the labourers possessing ‘valid documents’. The ruling party of West Bengal demanded their immediate release and warned of a larger political movement if such ‘targeted harassment’ continues.

A senior Odisha Police officer, however, said the detained people lack valid documents to establish their residency or citizenship. He also said that the police are not targeting any community or region and are only ensuring the security of the country. TMC MPs Samirul Islam, who also serves as chairman of the Migrant Workers’ Welfare Board, and Mahua Moitra condemned the ‘illegal detention’.

In a post on X, Moitra said, “23 workers from Nadia are being held in illegal detention in Jharsuguda. I urge @SecyChief @DGPOdisha to release them immediately.” Claiming that such incidents never happened during the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD’s 24-year rule in Odisha, she said, “Do not think there is no one to fight for these workers.”

In another post, Moitra said those 23 workers are from Mirzapur village under Panighata Gram Panchayat in her constituency, and they are being illegally detained with 421 other Bengali workers at the interrogation centre by Orient police station in Jharsuguda, Odisha, despite full documentation.

According to TMC leaders, over 200 migrant workers from districts such as Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda, Birbhum, Purba Bardhaman and South 24 Parganas have been picked up in recent weeks by Odisha Police and kept at interrogation centres in Jharsuguda district on suspicion of being Bangladeshis. Islam alleged that these detentions were part of a ‘deliberate pattern of harassment’ based solely on the workers’ language and origin. “Once again, atrocities against Bengali-speaking migrant workers continue in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district. The BJP government in Odisha recently detained over 200 migrant workers from Bengal districts on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. This is a fresh round of detentions following the earlier confinement of hundreds,” Islam said. “What is their fault? That they speak Bengali? What grudge do @narendramodi and @AmitShah hold against these poor Bengalis?” he asked. The top BJP leadership seems least bothered to address the plight of these Bengali-speaking individuals, Islam claimed in the post.

Last week, West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant wrote to his Odisha counterpart, urging him to intervene and stop the alleged ‘harassment’ of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in the state. In his letter, Pant said the detained workers, many of whom are daily-wage earners, rickshaw pullers, and domestic workers, are being ‘unjustly labelled as Bangladeshis’ merely because they speak Bengali, their mother tongue. Responding to the charge, Himanshu Lal, IGP of Northern Range, Sambalpur, said the concerns raised over the issue are understandable. “However, safeguarding national interest and security remains paramount and cannot be compromised. The individuals under scrutiny lack valid documentation to establish their residency or citizenship, necessitating a thorough verification process to ascertain their identity,” he said in a post on X. Without verifiable documents, it is imperative to cross-check records to confirm whether individuals are Indian citizens or foreign nationals, Lal said. The verification is being conducted meticulously by senior officials via a Joint Investigation Team, with multiple layers of scrutiny to ensure no Indian citizen is wrongfully detained or harassed, the officer said.

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