Workers from Bengal have allegedly been beaten up and harassed for being illegal immigrants in the neighboring state of Odisha. It is alleged that the workers from Bengal were assaulted for being ‘Bangladeshis’.
A group of laborers from Samserganj block in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district was physically assaulted in Odisha’s Bhadrak on Tuesday.
It is alleged that several BJP workers, including Sayan Parida, a local BJP leader from Bhadrak, surrounded the workers from Murshidabad. They were then labeled as ‘Bangladeshis’ and ‘infiltrators’, and were even beaten with sticks. The injured were identified as Md Saifuddin Momin, 45, Rakibuddin Momin, 42, and Manjarul Seikh, 30.
A worker said, “I have been working as a hawker in Odisha for a long time. I have never experienced such a situation before. We are all horrified by today’s events. They didn’t listen to us; they came and started beating us.”
More than 100 residents of Samserganj and Suti in Murshidabad district have been working as hawkers in Odisha’s Bhadrak for the last two decades. Many also work as laborers. They have been in Bhadrak for a long time. A few days ago, local BJP leaders and workers demanded proof of Indian citizenship from them. When they refused to show it, they were allegedly beaten up. BJP leaders and workers also labeled them as ‘Bangladeshis’.
This story was originally published in theobserverpost.com. Read the full story here.