Amid the turmoil and apprehensions of Bangladesh unrest, the Odisha government is considering undertaking a survey to identify the Bangladeshi infiltrators staying in the state with bonafide proof of Indian nativity.
Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said on Sunday that the state has provided the registered refugees with the right to stay in the state. These registered refugees are from across the border who became victims of religious persecution in then-East Pakistan and liberated Bangladesh. Harichandan, however, said there are many Bangla infiltrators who are also illegally staying in the state.
There are reports of more Bangladeshi immigrants who have infiltrated the state to earn a livelihood over the years with no visa or work permit. The exercise to identify the illegal settlers will be undertaken shortly for security reasons, he added.
Meanwhile, several members of the BJP’s youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, reportedly detained 34 people from a construction site in Odisha’s Sambalpur district on Saturday. They falsely accuse them of being Bangladeshi nationals.
Later on, they were handed over to local police but were released after the authorities confirmed they were not from Bangladesh.
According to the reports, Ainthapali police confirmed that these men are originally from the Murshidabad area in West Bengal and have been working at the construction site in Budharaja for a long time now.
Hindu Right-Wing Groups Target Muslims
Recent days have witnessed how Hindu right-wing groups have been targeting Muslims in several parts of the country, accusing them of being “Bangladeshi infiltrators” amid the ongoing unrest in the neighboring country.
In the above video, there is one of those incidents where members of the Indian far-right group Hindu Raksha Dal, led by Pinky Chaudhary, could be seen attacking Muslims residing in Ghaziabad slums, accusing them of being “Bangladeshi infiltrators,” despite the police confirming the slum residents were Indian citizens.
Earlier in August, Pinky Chaudhry, in a video, openly said that he would target Muslim people in India if Hindus in Bangladesh faced mistreatment.
A Ghaziabad police official on Saturday said the two key accused, HRD chief Bhoopendra Tomar alias Pinki Chowdhary and Badal alias Hari Om, were arrested in this connection.
Abhishek Srivastava, assistant commissioner of police, Kavi Nagar circle, said, “A probe has been initiated in the case and a search is on for the suspects. Those attacked were Muslim families, but none of them were from Bangladesh… The supporters of Pinki Chaudhary have been booked.”
Other such incidents were reported from the districts of Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, and Sambalpur, where local residents confronted Bengali-speaking Muslim laborers, demanding proof of their Indian citizenship.
Backlash Faced
Prominent rights activist Apoorvanand condemned the attacks, labeling the perpetrators as “Hindutva goons” and highlighting the targeting of vulnerable communities. He called for accountability and questioned why these individuals have not been arrested.
Shaukat Ali, president of the All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen in Uttar Pradesh, referred to the attackers as “terrorists” and criticized the state government for its inaction against such groups, suggesting that they operate with government sanction.
Mamta Banerjee Steps Up
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee intervened on Sunday, calling her Odisha counterpart Mohan Charan Majhi to request an investigation into the alleged assaults on laborers from her state.
