Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury flags ‘parallel policing’ against Bengali migrant workers in Odisha

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday met Bengali migrant workers in Odisha’s Sambalpur district and expressed concern over what he described as “parallel policing” in some states, where private individuals were allegedly asking labourers to produce identity documents, urging law enforcement agencies to immediately stop the practice.

Chowdhury, a five-time former Member of Parliament from the Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, assured the migrant workers that the Congress stood with them and said the issue had been taken up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I met some Bengali migrant workers here and told them that Congress is with them. I also informed them that the matter has been taken up with the Prime Minister,” Chowdhury told reporters.

He expressed concern over the killing of 30-year-old Jewel Rana, a Bengali-speaking migrant worker from Jangipur in Murshidabad, who was murdered in Sambalpur last month following an altercation over a bidi. It was alleged that the assailants had asked Rana to show his Aadhaar card on suspicion that he was a Bangladeshi infiltrator, a charge that has been denied by the local police.

“There is a parallel policing system in some states, as private persons are asking migrant workers to show their identity proof. This must be stopped, and the police should ensure that no one is harassed by goons on the suspicion that a migrant worker might be a Bangladeshi infiltrator,” Chowdhury said.

The Congress leader said he would also bring the matter to the notice of President Droupadi Murmu, Sambalpur MP and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.

“I will fight for the safety of Bengali migrant workers working in different states,” he said, adding that migrant labourers travel in search of livelihood and their intentions should not be viewed with suspicion.

Chowdhury also met local Congress leaders during his visit and urged them to remain vigilant to prevent such incidents in the future. Accompanied by party leaders from West Bengal, where Assembly elections are due later this year, he visited Dhanipali under the Ainthapali police station area and interacted with Bengali-speaking workers. He also visited the site where Rana was hacked to death on 24 December last year.

During the visit, Chowdhury met Northern Range Inspector General Himanshu Kumar Lal and Sambalpur Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo. Lal said the police had taken prompt action in the case, arresting the accused within six hours of the incident.

“The police will file a charge sheet very soon and ensure that the accused are punished,” Lal told reporters, adding that the police were following a policy of zero tolerance and conducting regular patrolling in vulnerable areas. He said an awareness campaign had also been launched, urging people not to take the law into their own hands.

Chowdhury said West Bengal and Odisha shared centuries-old cordial relations and that thousands of workers moved between the two states for employment. However, he warned that the situation was taking a negative turn due to allegations of Bangladeshi infiltration.

“Please do not consider all Bengali-speaking people as Bangladeshi,” he said.