Police resorted to lathi-charge and fired tear gas to disperse around 1,000 people who blocked NH12 at two locations in Murshidabad district for approximately three hours on Wednesday in protest against alleged attacks on migrant labourers in Odisha last week.

The migrants, mostly from the Murshidabad district, were allegedly attacked on the suspicion of being Bangladeshi immigrants.

The protesters were mainly migrant workers forced to flee Odisha and return home. They vandalised a truck bearing the Odisha registration number.

The blockades were also staged to demand that the Bengal government provide them with alternative employment opportunities. The blockades were lifted after district officials assured the protesters that the matter would be taken up with the state administration.

At least two assistant sub-inspectors were injured when the labourers hurled stones. The police have detained four migrant workers for their alleged involvement in the attack.

The blockades disrupted traffic on NH12, which connects north and south Bengal.

The blockades began at Basudebpur village in Samserganj around 9am, followed by a similar protest at Sajur More in Suti, approximately 5km away.

In the past two weeks, several Bengali migrant workers living in Odisha have faced harassment on suspicion of being Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants. Last week, at least 20 workers from Murshidabad district were allegedly beaten up in Odisha. They were rescued and later brought back to Bengal.

“In many places, people in Odisha questioned us upon hearing us speak in Bengali. When we showed our Aadhaar cards, they dismissed them as fake and called the police. Instead of helping, the Odisha police told us to leave the state,” said one of the protesting migrant workers.

Rasid Sheikh, a 25-year-old of Samserganj, said: “I have been working in Odisha for the past five years, earning about ₹10,000 per month as a hawker. But now, the people of Odisha suspect me as a Bangladeshi who illegally entered India after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government. We were advised to return, but now, we need jobs to survive,
which the state government must ensure.”

Trinamool Congress’s Jangipur MP, Khalilur Rahaman, said: “I have written to Union home minister Amit Shah, seeking the safety of people who work in other states, including Odisha. I have also requested Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to intervene in this matter.”

Farakka subdivisional police officer Kousik Basak said: “Police had to use mild force to clear the road, but no labourer was injured. Four protesters have been arrested.”