Sambalpur, Dec 26: Police have arrested six men in connection with the killing of a 19-year-old migrant worker from West Bengal in Odisha’s Sambalpur district, as the victim’s co-workers alleged that the assault was preceded by demands for Aadhaar cards amid suspicions that they were Bangladeshi nationals.
The victim, identified as Juel Sheikh from Murshidabad district in West Bengal, was attacked on Wednesday night (December 24) in the Shanti Nagar area, where he and other migrant labourers were employed at a construction site.
Majhar Khan, one of the injured workers and an eyewitness to the incident, alleged that the assailants first approached the group asking for a bidi and later demanded to see their Aadhaar cards.
“They asked us for a bidi and then demanded our Aadhaar cards. Later, they rammed Juel Sheikh’s head against a hard object,” Khan said from hospital.
Another worker, Nizamuddin Khan, claimed the attackers repeatedly referred to the labourers as Bangladeshis before assaulting Sheikh and two others.
The injured workers remain hospitalised and are undergoing treatment. According to the workers, the group was preparing food in their living quarters when six men stopped them, questioned their identity, and allegedly attacked them.
Police, however, have disputed the allegation that the violence was linked to the workers’ identity or nationality. Inspector General of Police (Northern Range) Himanshu Kumar Lal said the incident stemmed from a dispute over a bidi that escalated into a scuffle.
“The murder has nothing to do with whether the victim was a Bengali or a Bangladeshi,” he said. A senior police official added that migrant workers from neighbouring states had been living in the area for several years and were familiar with the accused. A probe is underway to ascertain whether more people were involved in the crime.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of fuelling hostility against Bengali-speaking people. In a post on social media platform X, the Mamata Banerjee-led party said the killing was “the direct outcome of the BJP’s sustained campaign against Bengalis.”
“For years, BJP leaders have deliberately branded Bengali-speaking Indians as infiltrators and outsiders. That poisonous narrative has now reached the streets,” the party alleged. All six accused have been arrested, and further investigation is ongoing.
