Odisha Lynching: A construction worker from Murshidabad district of West Bengal was killed after he was brutally attacked by a group of miscreants in western Odisha’s town of Sambalpur on Wednesday evening.
What’s The Odisha Lynching Incident All About?
Juel Sheikh, a migrant worker from West Bengal, along with a few others was working in the construction of a building in Shanti Nagar in the Ainthapalli police station area.
On Wednesday night, they were returning from work when a group of 6 men stopped them asking for a bidi (thin cigarettes of tobacco wrapped in brown tendu leaf). Soon, an altercation broke out that led to a fight between the two groups.
Police said Juel was severely thrashed and died while he was undergoing medical treatment at the Sambalpur Hospital. IGP (Northern Range) Himansu Kumar Lal said all the accused persons behind the lynching and death have been arrested.
What Did TMC Said?
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party said that the migrant worker was beaten to death over suspicion that he was an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant.
In a post on X, TMC said the lynching of a Bengali migrant worker in Sambalpur is nothing but the result of sustained campaigns about the residents of West Bengal by BJP. It went on to add that a legal Indian citizen was brutally beaten to death because a group of miscreants believed that Bengalis of this country are infiltrators who must constantly prove their right to exist in their homeland.
Interestingly, the IGP said the murder of Juel has nothing to do with his nationality as an Indian or Bangladeshi.