TMC alleges illegal detention of 444 Bengal migrants in Odisha's Jharsuguda
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.
Earlier, Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar, Mahua Moitra, alleged that migrant workers from West Bengal were illegally detained in Jharsuguda. In a video message posted on X, Moitra said 23 workers from her constituency's Panighata area were detained in Odisha as part of a documentation verification drive.
"This video is to bring to the urgent notice of the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary, and the DGP of Odisha that 23 workers from my Lok Sabha constituency in Mirzapur village under Panighata panchayat in Nadia district are currently illegally detained in an interrogation centre by Orient police station in Jharsuguda district," she said.
She claimed that a total of 444 Bengali-speaking workers from West Bengal are being held in Jharsuguda district, of which 23 are from her constituency. Moitra asserted that all the 23 people have valid documents with them.
Similarly, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam claimed that the Odisha government recently detained over 200 migrant workers from various districts of West Bengal including Murshidabad, Birbhum, Malda, Nadia, Purba Bardhaman and South 24 Parganas on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.
Meanwhile, a senior Odisha Police officer said the 444 persons under scrutiny lack valid documentation to establish their residency or citizenship, which necessitated a thorough verification process to ascertain their identities.
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