Bhubaneswar: A team from the West Bengal Police has been sent to Odisha’s Sambalpur to further investigate the death of a young migrant labourer from the neighbouring state.
The incident, that took place on December 24, has sparked a row and drawn attention from authorities in both states. The Sambalpur Police have already arrested six accused in connection with the case, and the investigation is currently underway to establish the circumstances led to the 30-year-old worker’s death.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reportedly said on Saturday (December 27, 2025) that a “zero FIR” has been filed and a state police team went to Odisha to conduct investigation.
She alleged “brutal oppression, harassment and violence” against Bengali-speaking people in “every BJP-ruled State”.
The migrant worker from West Bengal was allegedly killed in Sambalpur district following an altercation over a ‘bidi’ on Wednesday (December 24).
“I strongly condemn the brutal oppression, harassment and violence against Bengali-speaking people in every BJP-ruled Sstate. We stand firmly with those migrant Bengali-speaking families, which have been intimidated, victimised and subjected to inhuman treatment and assure them of all possible support,” Banerjee said in a post on X.
Referring to the Sambalpur incident, she alleged that migrant workers from the Jangipur region in Murshidabad have faced atrocities in BJP-ruled Odisha.
“It is deeply unfortunate that a young migrant worker from the Suti area of Jangipur in Murshidabad was again beaten to death in Sambalpur on December 24,” she said on the social media platform.
Banerjee claimed migrant workers from Muslim-majority Murshidabad are “now returning home in fear”.
“We stand with the families affected by this tragic incident, and financial assistance will be extended to the family of the deceased,” she was quoted by PTI as saying. Speaking the Bengali language can never be a crime, she said.
Notably, Sheikh Juel Rana was lynched in Shanti Nagar area under Ainthapali police limits of Sambalpur on the evening of December 24 by a group of six men, while he along with seven other migrant workers from West Bengal were at a tea stall. They were employed at a construction site there.
While the Odisha Police attributed the murder to an altercation over a bidi that escalated into violence, the workers claimed they were assaulted on suspicion of being Bangladeshis.
A co-worker, who was present at the spot, alleged that the attack began with a demand for identity proof. “The miscreants first asked for bidi and then sought our Aadhaar cards. Later, they rammed Juel’s head against a hard object,” Majhar Khan, one of the injured labourers, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Another worker, Nizamuddin Khan, claimed that the assailants repeatedly referred to them as Bangladeshis. The two injured workers are still in the hospital receiving treatment.
On Thursday, following the arrest of the six accused, Inspector General of Police, Northern Range, Himansu Lal, had also stressed that the murder was not a premeditated or targeted attack. “The murder was the outcome of a sudden provocation. The incident was not driven by any intention of targeting any particular category,” said Lal, without divulging the cause of provocation.
Elaborating further, Sambalpur additional superintendent of police Srimant Barik later said that the workers were friends with a particular group of locals in Sambalpur and often shared meals with them. While under the influence of alcohol, the locals demanded a bidi, which sparked a quarrel between them. In a moment of sudden provocation, one individual was attacked, resulting in a head injury that ultimately led to his death, he added.
