Sambalpur migrant worker lynching case: Zero FIR filed in Bengal, says CM Mamata
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said a zero FIR has been filed at Suti police station in Murshidabad district in connection with the alleged lynching of a migrant worker from the state in Odishas Sambalpur district. The chief minister also said that a police team from West Bengal has travelled to Sambalpur to investigate the case. The victim, identified as Juel Rana, was allegedly beaten to death following an altercation over a bidi in Sambalpur on Wednesday. Addressing the issue in a post on X, Mamata Banerjee strongly condemned what she described as brutal oppression, harassment and violence against Bengali-speaking people in every BJP-ruled state. The West Bengal Police have already registered a zero FIR at Suti police station and arrested six accused, she said in the post. She added, A police team from West Bengal has travelled to Odisha to carry out the investigation. I strongly condemn the brutal oppression, harassment and violence against Bengali-speaking people in every BJP-ruled state. We stand firmly with those migrant Bengali-speaking families who have been intimidated, victimised and subjected to inhuman treatment, and assure them of all possible support, the chief minister said. It is deeply unfortunate that a young migrant worker from the Suti area of Jangipur in Murshidabad was again beaten to death in Sambalpur on December 24, she added. Banerjee also claimed that migrant workers from Muslim-majority Murshidabad were now returning home in fear. We stand with the families affected by this tragic incident, and financial assistance will be extended to the family of the deceased, she said. Juel, along with other migrant workers from West Bengal, had gone to Sambalpur district to work in construction projects in Shantinagar under the Ainthapalli police station limits. On Wednesday night, while they were returning from work, a group of six men allegedly stopped them and asked for a bidi. An altercation broke out, leading to a scuffle between the two sides, police said. Juel was allegedly thrashed severely and died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sambalpur, police added. Six persons have been arrested in connection with the incident. The episode prompted the ruling Trinamool Congress to claim that Juel was beaten to death over suspicion that he was an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant. Despair and shattered hope for family of migrant worker murdered in Sambalpur The lynching of a Bengali migrant worker in Sambalpur is the direct outcome of @BJP4Indias sustained campaign against Bengalis. A citizen of India was beaten to death because a mob believed the lie that Bengalis are infiltrators who must constantly prove their right to exist, the TMC alleged in a post on X. Deeply perturbed by repeated incidents of alleged harassment of migrant labourers from Bengal working in other states, Mamata Banerjee had, at the end of August, urged them to return to their home state and start their own businesses. The West Bengal government has announced two benefits for returning migrant workers under the Shramasree scheme, launched in mid-August - a one-time payment of Rs 5,000 and a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 for a year during the rehabilitation phase. To avail of these benefits, migrant labourers have to apply through a mobile application. The labour department is seeking police assistance for verification. 'Direct outcome of sustained campaign': TMC slams BJP over lynching of Bengali migrant worker in Odisha
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