A migrant worker from North Dinajpur accused Haryana police of beating him senseless on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi infiltrator, leaving him with a fractured leg.

On July 24, Md Junaid was detained by the police on suspicion that he was a Bangladeshi national.

Junaid, who is from Solpara village under the Goalpokhar-I block of North Dinajpur, had been working at a carpet factory in Panipat, Haryana, for the past seven to eight years.

“On July 24, while I was working at the factory on night shift, a police team reached the factory and searched for me. As I introduced myself, they said they needed to verify my identity proofs,” Junaid, who returned to his Solpara home on Wednesday, said.

Junaid said that he told the cops he had his Aadhaar card at his rented accommodation. The team of cops escorted him to his rented accommodation, where Junaid handed over his Aadhaar card to them.

“The policemen then told me that I would have to go to the Panipat police station for verification and questioning. I went with them. They made me sit in a room and left with my Aadhaar card,” the worker narrated.

After an hour, the cops returned and told him that his Aadhaar card was fake.

“They started questioning me how I managed to get the fake identity proof and when did I cross the border and infiltrate India. I tried to say that wasn't the case, but they were in no mood to listen. Suddenly, three or four of them forced me to lie down, tied my limbs and started beating me with sticks, asking me to admit I am a Bangladeshi,” said Junaid, who added that he lost his senses during the beating.

“During the assault, my left leg got fractured and my nose started bleeding,” he added.

He lay unconscious at the police station throughout the night. In the morning, the carpet factory’s owner learned that Junaid had been detained and asked some of his employees to visit the police station.

On their request, the police released him. “Those employees took me to a doctor who confirmed the fracture and plastered my leg. The factory owner arranged my tickets and I reached home yesterday,” he said.

The police in Haryana, he said, threatened him saying were he to be seen in Panipat again, he would face dire consequences.

“I have my wife and two children at home. I don't dare to return there. I will find some work here,” said the migrant worker.

Goalpokhar Trinamool MLA Golam Rabbani, who is also state minister, met Junaid on Wednesday evening. “This is yet another glaring example of atrocities unleashed by the police in the BJP-ruled states on the Bengali-speaking migrant workers. We will apprise the ADG (law and order) about the issue and seek his intervention,” said Rabbani.

Junaid, he said, would be given necessary help by the state government.

On Thursday, Junaid's father Md Jamaluddin took him to Kishanganj, the bordering town in neighbouring Bihar, for his treatment, but in vain.

“We took him to a private nursing home in Kishanganj to check if his leg was properly plastered and if he needs any further treatment. The nursing home authorities in Kishanganj, however, said denied treating my son and said they didn't want to face any problem from the Haryana police. We returned home without any diagnosis,” said the father.