SCREENGRAB from a video shared by the TRINAMOOL CONGRESS.
Up to 44 Bengal -speaking people still remain in custody of the Jharsugud police in Odisha after their documentary evidence of Indian nationality failed to convince the police.
According to the police, 403 people could return to their workplace, while 44 were detained in two holding centers in the district.
I am afraid of detention and anxiety that could cause their families, more than 150 migrants in the neighboring Sambalpur district voluntarily turned to local police stations to submit documents such as Aadhaar cards, birth certificates, voter identification cards and even land records to prove their Indian citizenship.
This step is governed by the ongoing retention of 44 Bengal -speaking individuals in the Jharsugud district, whose documents allegedly did not convince coercive officials of their nationality. The incident caused extensive outrage in the country, especially in West Bengal.
After the consequences, the authorities seem to have reduced the efforts to round large numbers in large numbers. However, sporadic detention continues, especially in the subsection of the Karanjia in the Mayurbhanj district, where the staff were reportedly picked up randomly.
Many of those who have previously been detained in Jharsugud remain shaken by this experience. “Most migrant workers come from economically weaker sections. It is extremely difficult to have our documents sent through WhatsApp or delivered physically. The biggest obstacle is the absence of birth certificates that most of us simply do not have,” one of the released workers said.
He told about the case of a comradeship of Murshidabad in West Bengal, who submitted a ground document covering three generations of his family, along with the Aadhaar card. “But because he married a woman from Bangladesh and accepted telephone calls from a neighboring country, the police remained unconvincing. He continued in custody,” he said.
Some workers also criticized the timing of their release. “We were released around 1:30, as if the police didn’t want us to go out with dignity in daylight,” another said.
The retained migrating workers in Jharsuguda included Hindu and Muslims. Most of them work as Masons or daily sellers, and Bengal workers from West Bengal and Jharkhand form the backbone of the construction workforce, especially for private and individual housing.
Published – 12 July 2025 12:11
