At least 23 migrant workers from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, who had travelled to Chhattisgarh for hawking and daily-wage work, have allegedly been detained on suspicion of being Bangladeshi, their families claim.
Among those detained are 22 Muslims and one Hindu, Shiv Mondal, from Ramkanai Pur village. Two of the detainees are also reportedly minors.
On Friday, Sirgitti police station in Bilaspur detained the 23 workers. Their families were allowed to speak to them over the phone that night. The workers reportedly told their families to submit all their documents to the local police station.
They have not been reachable since.
According to their families, the workers have been taken to a detention centre in Raigarh.
‘Police Have Checked Our Documents Several Times’
Kabirul Mahaldar, 50, is himself a hawker. He told The Quint, “I returned home from there on 16 August. We work for a month or a month and a half and then return home. After that, we go back again. Sometimes the police call us to the station and check our documents. Before returning home this time, the police had called me to the station three times to check my documents.”
Mahaldar said hawkers from Murshidabad travel from village to village alone to sell their goods.
“Sometimes, drunk-looking people who claim to be members of the Bajrang Dal or RSS threaten to harass us by branding us as Bangladeshis and extort money from us,” he alleged.
Seven From The Same Village Detained
Seven of the detainees are from Shahabad village under Suti police station. They include Islam Sheikh and his three sons — Ibrahim Sheikh, Ejazul Sheikh and Karim Sheikh. Three of Islam Sheikh’s nephews, Injamul Sheikh, Masikul Khan, and Shafikul Alam, are also among those detained.
Babu Sheikh, another son of Injamul Sheikh who also travels to Chhattisgarh for work, told The Quint:
“I also go there for work. We stay in Chuchiapara Ganesh Nagar in Bilaspur. But I have returned home now. The police have called us several times before and checked our documents. But they never detained us like this. We went to Suti police station, and the police assured us that everything would be fine. But we still have no idea where they are or what has happened to them.”
Four others among the 23 detainees — brothers Nasiruddin Sheikh and Shafiqul Islam, along with Mostakim Sheikh and Sabbir Sheikh — are from Hiranandanpur village in Samsherganj.
Naimuddin Sheikh, Nasiruddin’s father, told The Quint: “My son works in Bilaspur with our neighbour Sabbir Sheikh. Sabbir called me on 4 September and told me that when they returned from work and were cooking, the police picked them up. After that, the police took away their phones, so we could not contact them. They have been working there for six or seven years.”
Nasiruddin said he had visited Samsherganj police station after learning about the detention.
“They told us to submit all the documents, along with certificates from the panchayat and the MLA. I have submitted all the documents to the police station. Only the MLA’s certificate remains,” he said.
‘I Came To Meet My Boys’
Zakir Haque, described by the workers as the mahajan — the person who arranges and supervises work for several hawkers — flew to Raipur on Tuesday morning after learning about the detentions.
“I came here to meet my boys, but the administration here told me that I would not be allowed to meet them unless the issue was resolved,” Haque told The Quint.
The officer-in-charge of Suti police station said that the Chhattisgarh authorities had contacted the West Bengal government and that the matter was being verified as part of that process.
“We are verifying them according to the process. I cannot say anything about their condition or where they are being kept,” he said.
When contacted, the IC of Samsherganj police station said: “This matter is being handled by the higher authorities. We are not dealing with it.”
We have reached out to Chhattisgarh police and we will update the copy when we receive a response.
Many Have Their Names In The SIR Electoral Rolls
Several of the detained workers reportedly have their names in the latest electoral rolls published following West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Those whose names did not appear have filed appeals before the tribunals.
“Our parents’ names were also in the 2002 electoral rolls, and all seven of us have our names in the latest SIR list. All seven of us voted this time.”Babu Sheikh
The seven are voters at booth number 152, Shishu Shiksha Kendra School, in Shahabad under Suti Assembly constituency 57.
Nasiruddin said that while his and his wife’s names appeared in the SIR list, his son’s name was missing.
“We have appealed before the tribunal. I have submitted those documents as well. We are original Indians. My ancestors are from here,” he said.
The family members are voters at booth number 221, Hiranandanpur Primary School, under Samsherganj Assembly constituency 56.
Nearly 38 Lakh SIR Appeals Still Pending
The detentions come amid an ongoing controversy over the electoral roll revision in West Bengal.
Nearly 3.81 million (38.10 lakh) appeals have been filed before 19 appeal tribunals.
Of these, around 700,000 appeals were filed by voters themselves, seeking restoration of names that had been excluded. Around 3.1 million appeals were filed against the inclusion of names, either by the Election Commission or other objectors.
So far, 82,782 appeals — around 2.17 percent of the total — have been decided.
Of these, 75,443 names have been restored or included in the electoral rolls, accounting for around 91 percent of the decided cases. Another 7,339 appeals have been rejected, or the decision has been to exclude the names.
Around 3.728 million appeals — nearly 98 percent — remain pending.
Reshma Khatun, a Calcutta High Court lawyer and activist volunteering in SIR-related cases, told The Quint:
How can someone be harassed and branded as a Bangladeshi despite having all the necessary documents? The procedure itself is not clear. On what basis are these actions being taken? Under what law are people whose cases are still pending before the tribunals being detained? If the procedure is not clear, how can justice be delivered?”
‘I Won’t Go To Chhattisgarh Again’
For Mahaldar, the experience has changed his plans.
“I have decided that I will not go to Chhattisgarh again. There is no point living in fear. Even the families of those who have not been branded as Bangladeshis are scared. The entire area is living in fear,” he said.
“I am thinking of taking up bidi-rolling work and somehow managing my family’s expenses.”
Babu Sheikh questioned why workers with Indian identity documents should be living in fear.
“We have Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and voter cards. Our names are also in the SIR. Why should we live in fear after that? Why should we be detained? If we are afraid to travel for work, how will we earn a living?” he asked.
‘Is Speaking Bengali Our Crime?’
Jahangir Ali, 35, the organisational district secretary of Bengali nationalist organisation Bangla Pokkho in Jangipur, told The Quint that he had visited several villages after receiving information from local sources.
“People are terrified. Is speaking Bengali our crime? Bengali people have repeatedly been branded as Bangladeshis in different states simply because they are Bengali,” he said.
“Every year, large numbers of Bengalis leave the state to work elsewhere. At the same time, many more migrant workers come to West Bengal for work. Do we treat them the way Bengalis are being treated outside the state?”
“If Bengalis continue to face this kind of harassment, how will they earn a livelihood?” he asked.
According to the latest available data from the West Bengal government's Labour Department, 2,224,060 people have migrated from West Bengal for work.
On the other hand, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other prominent figures have repeatedly cited a figure of more than 15 million migrant workers coming to West Bengal from other states for employment.
For families in Murshidabad, however, the immediate question is simpler: where are their relatives, and when will they be allowed to come home?