Thirteen persons — migrant workers and their families — of whom five are from Cooch Behar in Bengal, have been detained by police in Rajasthan’s Sikar district on suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
The workers, employed at a brick kiln in the Patan police station area, were picked up by police on May 5. Since then, they and their families have been kept under surveillance in detention at a guest house near the police station.
Among those detained are Obaydul Khandakar and his wife Beauty Bibi, who are from the Purba Jagir Balabari village of Dinhata-II block in Cooch Behar.
“We have valid Aadhaar and voter cards. Still, the police picked us up.... They sought confirmation from some authorities in Bengal about our identities but did not release us,” Khandakar said over the phone. “They suspect we are Bangladeshis and have infiltrated India.”
Khandakar said that once released, he would never venture out of Bengal for any job.
Khandakar migrated to Rajasthan almost a year back in search of livelihood. On May 5, the personnel of Patan police station allegedly took them away from the brick kiln without prior notice, said sources.
“Along with Khandakar and his wife, the police have detained Noor Islam, another migrant worker from Mathabhanga of Cooch Behar, along with his wife and child. Two other families who are from Assam and Meghalaya were rounded up from the same brick kiln,” said a source.
In all, 13 individuals, including children, have been kept in the guest house under police watch.
“Till Monday evening, none of the detainees had been released,” said a source.
Porijayi Shramik Aikya Mancha, a social outfit in Bengal working for the welfare of migrant workers since 2019, has raised the issue.
“In recent times, there have been crackdowns in some states to nab infiltrators. But we fail to understand why Indian migrant workers are harassed,” said Asif Faruk, the Mancha state general secretary.
Asif, who has communicated with the Rajasthan police and the Cooch Behar district administration, said they had come up with helpline numbers to help Bengali-speaking migrant workers in distress.
On April 1, the Mancha sent a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah on the rising harassment of Bengali-speaking workers across India.
Samirul Islam, the Rajya Sabha member of TMC, who heads the Bengal government’s migrant worker welfare board, said: The state government has initiated talks with officials in Rajasthan. We hope they are released soon.”