In yet another incident of violent “Bengali-phobia”, albeit not in a saffron-ruled state this time, Sandeshkhali resident Tapchhel Jamadar, 27, along with several other youths from the area, got “brutally attacked” on Saturday at Tatanagar railway station in Jharkhand, allegedly for speaking in Bengali.

The group from Boyramari in Sandeshkhali had just reached Tatanagar station and were speaking in Bengali among themselves when local youths reportedly targeted them, assaulting them physically and with sharp weapons.

According to witnesses, the attackers shouted derogatory remarks, labeling the workers as “Bangladeshis” because they spoke Bengali, and then assaulted them. Tapchhel received the most severe injuries.

Tapchhel, who had been working in construction in Odisha for the past five years, had returned home earlier in September. He and some others from his village had reached Tatanagar to work in a construction project in Jamshedpur.

Following preliminary treatment in Jamshedpur, Tapchhel was brought to Calcutta on Sunday night for further medical attention.

The incident spread panic throughout Boyramari village, leaving families fearful and outraged over the rising incidents of linguistic and regional discrimination faced by migrant workers from Bengal in other states.

Tapchhel’s family appealed directly to chief minister Mamata Banerjee for immediate intervention, urging her to ensure strict action against those responsible for this assault.

“We migrate for honest work. Why should speaking our language make us targets?” asked a family member.

Mamata has already launched a rehab scheme — Shramashree — with a benefit package to Bengal’s migrant workers forced to return home because of persecution stemming from the alleged “linguistic apartheid” in saffron-ruled states on account of “Bengali-phobia”.

The scheme will cover those forced to return to Bengal on account of “saffron harassment” from among the 22 lakh workers registered with the state government’s migrant workers’ portal.

Under it, each returning worker will receive a one-time grant of ₹5,000, including travel assistance, along with a monthly rehabilitation allowance of ₹5,000 for one year or until a new job is arranged for them.

Beneficiaries will also be provided with Khadya Sathi ration cards, Swasthya Sathi health insurance and guaranteed school admission for their children.

Mamata said last month that around 10,000 such workers have already returned to Bengal in recent months, succumbing to “Bengali-phobic” persecution in NDA-ruled states.

She has been unrelenting for over a month in her attacks on the saffron regime over the alleged linguistic apartheid fuelled by their “Bengali-phobia”. With it, she has woven in the issue of “backdoor NRC” (the special intensive revision of electoral rolls) by an allegedly compromised Election Commission of India, which she termed a “conspiracy to disenfranchise” the poor and marginalised non-BJP voters.