‘State-sponsored kidnapping’: Moitra slams detention of Bengal migrants in Chhattisgarh
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A political row has erupted after nine migrant workers from West Bengal were detained in Chhattisgarh’s Kondagaon district for allegedly failing to produce valid documents, despite claims that they were legally employed. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has termed the incident a case of “state-sponsored kidnapping” by the Chhattisgarh government and police.
According to The Indian Express, the nine workers, all residents of Moitra’s Krishnanagar constituency in West Bengal, were working as masons at a private school construction site in Albedapada, Kondagaon. They were picked up by local police on July 12.
The Kondagaon Police told The Hindu that the men had been living in the district for three months but had not reported their presence to local authorities despite repeated public announcements. Superintendent of Police Akshay Kumar stated that during a patrol, officers questioned the workers, who failed to produce identification and allegedly misbehaved with the police. The men were subsequently taken into custody and presented before a sub-divisional magistrate.
Police said they were detained under a provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which allows a magistrate to order a person suspected of concealing their presence with intent to commit a cognisable offence to execute a bond for good behaviour. The men were reportedly released on Monday, with police stating that it was up to them whether to stay in Kondagaon or return to West Bengal.
However, Moitra strongly contested the police’s version. She claimed that the men had travelled to Chhattisgarh through a registered labour contractor, with proper documentation and verification. “They were taken without any notice, held without access to a lawyer or phone call, and their mobile phones were switched off. Neither the Bengal government nor their families were informed,” Moitra alleged.
She also stated that despite claims of their release, the families had not yet been able to reach the workers, and no official detention order had been shared. Moitra further claimed that the Kondagaon Superintendent of Police told her he "did not want the workers in the district", raising questions about discrimination against legal migrant labourers.
The matter has now reached the judiciary, with a habeas corpus petition filed in the Chhattisgarh High Court on Monday.
This incident comes amid rising concerns over the treatment of migrant workers from Bengal across Indian states. Just last month, four men from Murshidabad were allegedly picked up by the Maharashtra Police and forcibly pushed across the Bangladesh border. They were later brought back on June 15, after the Murshidabad Police proved their Indian citizenship.
These events are unfolding in the backdrop of "Operation Sindoor", India’s ongoing operation targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. As part of its internal security measures, Indian authorities have reportedly expelled over 2,000 individuals into Bangladesh in recent months. Many of those deported maintain they are Indian citizens.
The legality of these "push back" tactics has sparked debate nationally and internationally. Legal experts have told that such actions violate India’s obligations under both international and customary international law.
