– Shabana Javed
Kolkata: Another case of alleged harassment of a West Bengal resident has surfaced, this time involving a migrant worker detained in Odisha on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi. The incident has sparked concern among families of migrant workers. Debashis Das, a resident of Rabindranagar in Chunchura-2 Block of Hooghly District, had travelled to Jharsuguda district of Odisha on June 14 for employment along with several other workers. They were engaged in fire system installations for a private organisation. However, according to Das’s family, local police abruptly detained them from their worksite.
Despite presenting valid identification passport, Aadhaar, PAN card, voter ID, birth certificate, educational documents, and even police verification papers, the workers were allegedly not released. Their mobile phones were also reportedly confiscated, and they were not allowed to contact their contractor or family members.
After several days, Debashis Das returned to West Bengal on Friday. Speaking to the media, he said, “We were harassed because we were speaking Bengali. I’ve worked in 14 states, but I have never faced such treatment before. This has left me scared to take up work outside Bengal again.”
His mother, Biva Das, said, “If this continues, how will the people of Bengal work outside the state? My son had all the required documents. This kind of harassment is unacceptable. Migrant workers from other states are treated respectfully in Bengal; why can’t we expect the same treatment elsewhere?” She has urged the West Bengal government to intervene and address the repeated instances of discrimination faced by Bengali migrant workers in other states.
This incident comes amid growing concerns about regional discrimination and the targeting of migrant workers based on language and ethnicity. Civil rights groups have also started raising questions about the safety and dignity of workers travelling across state lines in search of livelihood.
