West Bengal migrant worker beaten to death in Odisha’s Sambalpur

A 30-year-old migrant worker from West Bengal was allegedly beaten to death in Odisha’s Sambalpur district following an altercation over a bidi, police said on Thursday.

The deceased, Juel Sheikh, was working along with a few other labourers from West Bengal at a building construction site in Shanti Nagar under the Ainthapalli police station area, officials said.

According to the police, the incident took place on Wednesday night when the workers were returning from work. A group of six men allegedly stopped them and asked for a bidi, following which an argument broke out and escalated into a scuffle.

Juel was allegedly assaulted during the altercation and sustained serious injuries. He was rushed to the Sambalpur hospital, where he later succumbed, police said.

“We have arrested all six accused persons. We are investigating the case,” IGP (Northern Range) Himansu Kumar Lal told PTI.

The incident drew a political reaction from West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which alleged that Juel was beaten to death on suspicion that he was an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant.

“The lynching of a Bengali migrant worker in Sambalpur is the direct outcome of the BJP’s sustained campaign against Bengalis,” the TMC alleged in a post on X, claiming that a mob acted on the belief that Bengalis are infiltrators.

“For years, BJP leaders have deliberately branded Bengali-speaking Indians as infiltrators, outsiders, and suspects. That poisonous narrative has now reached the streets,” the party claimed.

Asked about the allegation, IGP Lal said the murder had no connection with the victim’s identity.

“The case has nothing to do with whether the victim was a Bengali or Bangladeshi,” he said, adding that the incident stemmed from a personal altercation.