Three migrant workers from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, detained by Assam Police on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals, were released on Sunday night following swift intervention by the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, according to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Samirul Islam. The Rajya Sabha MP, who chairs the West Bengal Migrant Workers’ Welfare Board, hailed the release as a testament to the state’s commitment to protecting its citizens.

The workers, identified as two from Shaktipur and one from Beldanga, were apprehended in Nagaon, Assam, on August 22 while hawking at Haibargaon. Islam claimed they were targeted for speaking Bengali, a recurring issue in BJP-ruled states. “The three were sent to a detention camp and faced illegal extortion of Rs 1.5 lakh, which was returned after our intervention,” Islam told PTI. He accused authorities in Assam of detaining the workers without proper verification, highlighting a pattern of alleged harassment against Bengali-speaking migrants.

Islam further alleged that such incidents are rampant across BJP-ruled states, citing the case of Golam Mondal, a migrant worker from North 24 Parganas’ Habra, who reportedly died in Maharashtra due to “inhumane torture” during illegal detention by police. “Our government acts swiftly to protect Bengali workers facing torture, detention, and extortion,” Islam stated, emphasizing the TMC’s proactive stance.

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The incident has fueled tensions between the TMC and BJP, with the former accusing the latter of “linguistic profiling” and targeting Bengali migrants to stoke political narratives. The West Bengal government has vowed to continue its fight against such injustices, leveraging legal and diplomatic channels to safeguard its migrant workers, estimated at over 22 lakh across India.

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