Over 300 people from Odisha held in Bengal's Pachim Medinipur return home

Over 300 people from Odisha, who were allegedly detained by locals in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur, safely returned home on Wednesday after being rescued by police, officials said.

The incident is suspected to be a fallout of the alleged assault on migrant laborers from West Bengal in Odisha, who were mistakenly identified as Bangladeshi nationals.

The people, from Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts, had traveled to Kharika village in Keshpur for treatment by a local healer. On their way back, they were allegedly attacked by a mob, which also damaged their vehicles, they claimed.

"All the people were rescued due to police intervention and safely reached Odisha," said Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar. He confirmed that the buses carrying the group dropped them off at Laxmannath Gate on the Odisha-Bengal border on Tuesday evening.

 

The situation came to light after some affected people contacted Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, who then informed Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. Senior police officials from both states quickly coordinated efforts to rescue the detained people.

Inspector-in-Charge of Remuna police station, Sanju Hasina Kulu, said 27 people from Remuna block were among those detained and have safely reached Laxmannath Gate.

The incident follows a similar event on August 10 in Odisha, where youths detained 34 people at a construction site in Sambalpur district, suspecting them of being Bangladeshi nationals amid the ongoing crisis in the neighboring country.

These tensions have also led to migrant workers returning to Bengal after facing attacks in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called Majhi on August 11, expressing concern over the alleged mistreatment of migrant labourers from Bengal. She had also urged the workers to return to take advantage of opportunities available in the state.