Bhubaneswar: Authorities in Odisha have released 302 of the 444 migrant workers detained on suspicion of being Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. These people, who were put up in holding shelters in the Jharsuguda district have been released, the police said.
“While 25 persons were released on Wednesday, 277 more were allowed to leave on Thursday after their documents established they are Indian citizens. The verification of the remaining 142 people is underway and further action will be taken accordingly,” the police said.
The detentions had led to a major row between the states of Odisha and West Bengal, with the Trinamool Congress leadership alleging that Bengali-speaking Indian nationals are being illegally detained in BJP-run states.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee took to X and said: “Disturbing reports have emerged from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh, where Bengali-speaking individuals are facing targeted persecution.”
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam also alleged that the mobile phones of the migrants workers shifted to the holding centres in Jharsuguda were taken away by the local police. “The migrant workers from West Bengal detained illegally in the holding centres in Jharsuguda are not even able to contact their families as the police have seized the mobile phones from them,” he claimed.
Jharsuguda Police refuted the allegations of seizing mobile phones. “They are showing us the documents on their mobile phones. How can they do so, if the devices are seized,” a senior police official said. He said that all facilities and amenities, including quality food, are being provided to the people at the holding centres.