Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan has written to Union home minister Amit Shah seeking immediate action for what he described as “systematic assaults” on migrant labourers from Bengal working in Odisha.

The letter, dated April 27 and shared on Friday, comes in the wake of disturbing reports that nearly 20,000 workers, many from Murshidabad and surrounding districts, have fled Odisha over the past few weeks amid rising threats and targeted violence.

The former cricketer turned Berhampore MP alleged that several organised groups in Odisha have launched coordinated attacks on Bengali workers since the formation of the new state government.

Labourers, he wrote, are being singled out for their regional identity, beaten, robbed, and driven out of their workplaces.

“The workers are facing brutal attacks, intimidation, looting, and threats to vacate their accommodation,” read the letter posted on the Trinamool Congress’s X handle.

According to Pathan, many have been assaulted at night, robbed of their mobile phones and wages, had their Aadhaar cards destroyed, and were evicted from worksites.

Pathan pointed to a series of videos circulating online that appear to confirm these attacks, adding that the nature of the assaults indicates they are neither isolated nor spontaneous.

The Telegraph Online could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.

He said the scale of the violence, and the speed at which workers were fleeing, raised serious questions about the safety of Bengali labourers in Odisha and whether their rights were protected.

The TMC MP demanded that the ministry of home affairs step in and direct the Odisha administration to act against the perpetrators.

He also called for a fact-finding team to visit the affected districts, assess the situation on the ground, and report back to the Centre.

Pathan has also asked for immediate relief and rehabilitation support for those who have returned home out of fear.

“This is not merely a law and order issue,” Pathan said in the letter. “It is a matter of human dignity and the constitutional right to work and reside in any part of our federal nation.”

The letter has brought renewed focus on the case where a group of 40 migrant labourers returned home from Odisha after allegedly being attacked for being Bengali.

The Telegraph had reported on Friday that these labourers were employed at a bridge construction site in Sambalpur. One of them, Rafikul Islam, said a group of locals came up to them, asked which state they were from, and turned aggressive when they said Bengal.

The men were beaten, chased from the site, and forced to lock themselves inside their temporary quarters.

Abdur Rashid, another worker in the group, said the attackers came at night and that they managed to get in touch with local MLAs for help. With assistance from Malda police, Odisha police were alerted, and the group was told their safety could not be guaranteed.

They were put on a train and sent back home, leaving behind their belongings and unpaid wages.

Several of them later alleged that their contractors were now refusing to clear dues unless they returned to the same site — something the workers say they’re too afraid to do.

Md Shahjahan, one of the labourers who returned, earlier said that the attackers did not ask about their religion, only where they were from.

District officials in Malda have confirmed that the labour department has been asked to identify all affected workers and liaise with Odisha authorities to ensure that pending payments are made.

Trinamool leaders, including district president and MLA Abdur Rahim Boxi, have accused the BJP government in Odisha of failing to curb targeted attacks and demanded a response from the Centre.

BJP MP Khagen Murmu from Malda Uttar earlier accused the TMC of inflaming the situation through political posturing.

“What happened to those migrant workers is completely undesirable. But Trinamool is equally responsible. I will raise the matter with BJP MPs and ministers from Odisha,” he said.