‘No arrest, only lawful document verification': Odisha Advocate General tells Calcutta HC on migrant detentions

Indian Express

5 days ago

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday asked the Advocate General of Odisha to submit an affidavit on the alleged detention of Bengali-speaking migrant workers who had travelled to the state for work.
The division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra asked, 'Apprise us whether they were arrested, interrogated, or detained.' The Advocate General of Odisha, appearing virtually, denied any arrest.
According to the petitioners' counsel, those detained were allegedly released only after the court intervened. Raghunath Chakraborty, appearing for the petitioners, said, 'The detention was illegal and thus compensation should be provided. Those who have been released have stated that many others like them remain in custody — detained illegally and not produced before a magistrate.'
'There have been no arrests. As per the Foreigners Act, 1946, Section 3, when the citizenship of suspected persons is in doubt, we investigate for lawful verification of documents. People from all over the country come to work here, and lawfully, on suspicion, their documents are verified,' the Odisha Advocate General submitted.
Senior counsel Kalyan Banerjee, appearing for the petitioners, argued, 'There must be some grounds. Only on suspicion, they cannot declare someone a foreigner.'
After hearing all parties, the court directed the Odisha government to submit its affidavit in opposition by August 20. The petitioners were directed to file replies by August 27, and the matter will be taken up on August 29. The court also directed Advocate General Ashok Kumar Acharya to be present in person for the next hearing.
The court is hearing two habeas corpus petitions filed earlier this month against Odisha Police, accusing it of illegally detaining Bengali-speaking migrant workers.
One of the petitions was filed by Nasima Mondal, mother of Rakhibul Islam Mondal who is a resident of Hariharpara in Murshidabad and was allegedly detained in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district. She moved the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution, claiming her son was held for more than 24 hours without being produced before a magistrate in violation of his fundamental rights.
According to her petition, police allegedly picked up Rakhibul during an identity verification drive on June 25 and 'ignored valid documents' in his possession — including Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration card. The petitioner alleged he was targeted for speaking Bengali and suspected of being Bangladeshi, without any proper identity checks.
Another petition was filed by Rajjak Sheikh, also from Hariharpara, seeking the release of his son, Sainur Islam. He claimed Jagatsinghpur police detained his son during a similar identity verification drive on June 30.