A group of 40 migrant workers from Malda returned home from Odisha’s Sambalpur last week after they were allegedly threatened, abused and manhandled by some residents there.

The workers, who have filed a complaint with Chanchal police in Malda, alleged that they were attacked because “they were from Bengal.” They stressed that the attackers did not ask them about their religion.

One of the workers, Rafikul Islam, said they went from Odisha to from the villages under Harishchandrapur, Chanchal and Ratua police stations in Malda.

“We went to Sambalpur in the third week of April by train to work at a bridge construction site. Some residents came to the site and asked us which state we were from. Learning that we were from Bengal, they turned hostile and started abusing us. Some of them manhandled us,” he said.

“We were frightened and fled to our temporary quarters. Then, those people came to our quarters at night and attacked us again,” Islam said.

They were so scared that they could not even insist that the contractor pay their dues.

“We locked ourselves inside the quarters to save ourselves, contacted the Trinamool MLAs of our areas and sought their help. With their intervention, the Malda district police contacted their Sambalpur counterparts. On April 24, we were asked to leave by train as our security was at stake. We reached Malda on the next day,” said Abdur Rashid, another worker of the group.

Rashid said the attackers didn’t ask them about their religion but repeatedly asked about their native language and state.

“When we said that we were from Bengal, they started thrashing us,” he said.

The workers could not bring back their belongings in a hurry to flee, he added. Moreover, their wages are pending.

“Whenever we ask for our dues from the construction company, their representatives suggest we join the work at the same site. But we do not dare return,” said Md Shahjahan, another worker attacked and assaulted in Odisha.

Workers have appealed to the Malda district administration to make arrangements so that they get their due wages.

Malda Trinamool leaders slammed the assault on Bengali migrant workers in BJP-ruled Odisha.

“This is the actual face of the BJP. The BJP is anti-Bengali. I request the state government to take up the issue with the Centre so that the security of migrant workers can be ensured,” said Abdur Rahim Boxi, the Malda district Trinamool president and an MLA.

Khagen Murmu, the BJP MP from Malda Uttar Lok Sabha seat where the workers hail from, was critical of TMC.

“Trinamool is responsible for such incidents. Irresponsible speeches of Trinamool leaders have demeaned the image of Bengal and common people are bearing the brunt of it,” said Murmu.

“What happened with those migrant workers is completely undesirable. I will take up the issue with the MPs and ministers of Odisha,” he added.

Officials of the Malda district administration said that the state labour department had been asked to gather details of the workers and take up the issue with their counterparts in Odisha.

“We are also putting efforts to ensure that the concerned workers get their due wages. The administration is ready to extend all possible help to them,” said Nitin Singhania, the district magistrate of Malda.