Muslim labourer lynched in India over allegations of being Bangladeshi

SAMBALPUR: A labourer from Indian state of West Bengal was reportedly beaten to death in Odisha’s Sambalpur district after a confrontation, local authorities confirmed on Thursday. Reports suggest that it was a hate crime and he was lynched over allegations of being Bangladeshi.

The victim, identified as Juel Sheikh, had been working with fellow West Bengal laborers on a construction project in Shanti Nagar, located within the jurisdiction of Ainthapalli police station.

On the night of December 24, while returning from work, Sheikh and his colleagues were approached by a group of six men who demanded a bidi – a form of local cigarette. What followed was a violent altercation between the two parties, which escalated into a physical assault.

Juel was severely beaten during the incident and later succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment at a nearby hospital in Sambalpur, according to police reports.

All six suspects involved in the attack have been arrested, and investigations are currently underway, said Himansu Kumar Lal, Inspector General of Police for the Northern Range.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of West Bengal quickly condemned the killing, suggesting that Juel was targeted due to suspicions surrounding his identity as a possible illegal Bangladeshi immigrant.

TMC officials argued that the murder was a result of the BJP’s long-standing rhetoric against Bengali-speaking individuals, accusing them of being “infiltrators” or outsiders. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the TMC stated, “A Bengali migrant worker was lynched in Sambalpur due to the poisonous narrative that Bengalis are infiltrators, a lie deliberately spread by BJP leaders.”

However, when questioned about the TMC’s claims, IGP Himansu Kumar Lal denied that the attack was related to the victim’s ethnic or national background, accentuating that the motive behind the murder remained under investigation.