Odisha releases 25 after verifying documents amid crackdown on suspected illegal immigrants
Police said the document verification of the 25 people was completed and they were ascertained to be Indian nationals. The verification of the remaining 419 persons was currently underway and further action will be initiated accordingly.
The people have been kept at two holding centres - Black Diamond College of Engineering and Technology in Jharsuguda sub-division and Surabhi Kalyan Mandap in Brajrajnagar sub-division. The release of the 25 people came hours after the TMC claimed they were migrant workers from West Bengal and alleged they were being held illegally.
TMC MP from Krishnanagar, Mahua Moitra, alleged that 23 workers from her constituency's Panighata area were detained as part of the documentation verification drive. Posting a video statement on X, Moitra drew the attention of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, state chief secretary and DGP to the matter.
She asserted that all the 23 people possess valid documents. Her party counterpart in the Rajya Sabha Samirul Islam alleged that the Odisha government has detained over 200 migrant workers from various districts of West Bengal including Murshidabad, Birbhum, Malda, Nadia, Purba Bardhaman and South 24 Parganas on grounds of being Bangladeshi nationals.
Responding to the allegations, the Odisha government said it understood the concerns raised regarding the holding of individuals in Jharsuguda but asserted that safeguarding national interest and security remained paramount and cannot be compromised. Those found with with valid documents are already returning or are in the process of returning to their place of stay, it said.
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