West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. | Photo credit: PTI
The death of a young Bengali migrant worker in Maharashtra has sparked outrage in West Bengal, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (Feb 12, 2026) calling it a “hate crime”.
Sukhen Mahato, 24, who hailed from Bandwan in Purulia district, was found dead in the Koregaon area of Pune, Maharashtra on Tuesday (February 10, 2026) morning. The migrant worker was earning a living at a factory that manufactures spare parts for vehicles and did not return to his home in Pune on Monday (February 9, 2026) night, police said.
‘sick with words’
“I am shocked, enraged and unspeakably sickened by the barbaric murder of Sukhena Mahato, a 24-year-old migrant worker from Bandwan in Purulia, the sole breadwinner of his family in Pune, Maharashtra. This is nothing but a hate crime. The young man was stalked, tortured and murdered, posted on social media, his identity is Baner.
There has been a spike in attacks on migrant workers from West Bengal in several states across the country. Last month, the death of 30-year-old migrant worker Alauddin Sheikh in Jharkhand sparked violence in West Bengal as protesters blocked roads and railway tracks. Later, the police concluded that the migrant worker’s death was a suicide.
Regarding Mahat’s death, Chief Minister Ms Banerjee said it was a “direct result of a climate where xenophobia is being used as a weapon and the innocent are being targeted”.
Seeking “immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the perpetrators”, the Trinamool Congress president said, “Bengal stands with you in this hour of unimaginable grief. No effort will be spared to ensure justice.”
In the Name of the Nation: The Bengali Migrant Worker and Indian Citizenship
Attacked for speaking Bengali: father
While there were reports that the Pune police said the migrant worker was involved in a brawl with locals in a drunken state, Dhiren Mahato, father of the deceased migrant worker, said his son was targeted for speaking in Bengali.
Local Trinamool Congress officials visited the deceased migrant worker’s residence in Purulia. On Friday, Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will visit Mahat’s house and meet the bereaved family members.
Harassment, detention and attacks on West Bengal migrant workers in various parts of the country after May 2025 became a political issue as the Trinamool Congress associates them with the Bengali language and identity. The Trinamool Congress claims that such attacks target Bengali-speaking migrant workers.
After the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced the identification of Bangladeshi nationals in May 2025, thousands of Bengali-speaking migrant workers were detained in detention centers in several states for several days. Some persons who were detained from Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of the country were forcibly pushed to Bangladesh.
Published – 12 Feb 2026 20:25 IST