Three migrant workers from West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district were allegedly assaulted in Maharashtra after being suspected of being Bangladeshis for speaking in Bengali, triggering strong political reactions back home.
The workers, identified as Dilip Bagdi, Samir Barui and another colleague from Pandabeswar, said the incident took place while they were returning to West Bengal from Maharashtra. They claimed the trouble began when some local people overheard them speaking Bengali among themselves. According to the workers, they had earlier spoken in Hindi while buying travel tickets, but switched to Bengali while talking privately.
They alleged that locals stopped them and questioned their identity, insisting that they were Bangladeshis despite repeated claims that they were Indian citizens from West Bengal. The workers said they were forcibly taken off their transport and moved to another place where their Aadhaar cards were checked.
“Even after showing our Aadhaar cards, they refused to accept that we are Indians,” Samir Barui said while describing the incident.
The workers further alleged that they were subjected to severe violence. They claimed that hot tea was poured over their heads and that they were kicked on their head and stomach. According to them, the assault continued even after one of them pretended to fall ill in an attempt to stop the attack.
The incident has come amid growing complaints in recent months about the harassment and assault of Bengali speaking migrant workers in other states, especially in regions governed by the BJP, including Odisha and Rajasthan.
After the workers returned home, Pandabeswar MLA Narendranath Chakraborty met them on Sunday and strongly condemned the incident. He blamed the central government for what he described as an increasingly hostile environment for Bengali speaking people across the country.
“This is a display of extreme cruelty towards Bengalis. While West Bengal welcomes people from all parts of the country, Bengalis are being targeted elsewhere. The people will not forgive this,” Chakraborty said.
Reacting to the allegations, local BJP leader Dilip Chakraborty blamed the West Bengal government, claiming that a lack of employment opportunities in the state was forcing workers to migrate to Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh in search of work.
The BJP also suggested that there could be a political angle to the incident, alleging inconsistencies in the statements given by the workers.
