Nine migrant labourers from West Bengal were detained by Kondagaon police in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region for allegedly staying in the district without submitting the required documents to local authorities. The police invoked Section 128 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which deals with securing good behaviour from suspected individuals.
A habeas corpus petition was filed in the Chhattisgarh High Court on Monday. Later that evening, according to a report by The Indian Express, the workers were released after a letter was issued by the district administration.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra strongly criticised the detention, calling it a case of “state-sponsored kidnapping.” She alleged that the nine men, all from her Krishnanagar constituency, were picked up by police on July 12 while working as masons at a private school construction site in Albedapada, Kondagaon district.
“These were bona fide workers who had travelled with a contractor and carried valid documentation,” Moitra said. “They were staying at the site when the police arrived and took them away. Since then, their phones have been switched off.”
According to the families, the detained workers were being held at Jagdalpur jail in neighbouring Bastar district. Moitra further alleged that the West Bengal government and the families were not informed, and the men were denied access to legal counsel or even a phone call.
While officials have claimed the workers were released, Moitra maintained there was no phone contact with any of them to confirm their release.
Verification reports from the Additional SP (Rural), Krishnanagar Police, confirmed the identities of the workers—Sohel Sk, Sahabul Sk, Inamul Mandal, Rahim Shaikh, Sayan Sk, Mehebub Sekh, Monirul Islam Mondal, and Ripon Sk—as permanent residents of Mathurapur and Laxmipur villages in Nadia district. The report also confirmed their Indian citizenship.
The incident has once again highlighted concerns about the treatment of Bengali migrant workers across several BJP-ruled states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha, where hundreds have reportedly been detained on suspicion of being illegal immigrants despite holding valid documents.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently accused the BJP of systematically targeting Bengali-speaking workers, alleging they are being labelled as “infiltrators” and displaced through coordinated actions.
