Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has alleged that nine labourers from her Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal were wrongfully detained by police in Chhattisgarh’s Kondagaon district and falsely identified as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. The workers were reportedly engaged in construction work at a private school in the Albeda Pada area when they were taken into custody on July 12.
In a strongly worded post on X, Moitra accused the Chhattisgarh government and police of carrying out a “state-sponsored abduction”. She claimed the workers, despite having valid identity documents, were arrested without warrants and sent to jail under Section 128 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS), without legal representation or access to their families.
“Their phones have been switched off, and they were illegally detained without any hearing,” Moitra wrote, tagging the Chief Minister’s Office, Chhattisgarh Police, and the Director General of Police.
Responding to the allegations, Kondagaon Superintendent of Police Akshay Kumar told The Statesman that the area is sensitive from a security perspective and routine checks are conducted. “The workers failed to produce valid identity documents at the time of inspection. They were presented before the SDM and detained temporarily. After verification by West Bengal authorities, all nine were released on Monday evening,” he said.
The episode has triggered political friction, with opposition leaders accusing the BJP-led state government of harassment and overreach. State officials, however, maintain that standard legal procedures were followed and that no individual was mistreated or held without cause.
Speaking to The Statesman, Kondagaon-based journalist Ramakant Sinha noted that the incident highlights the urgent need for better inter-state coordination in the identification and verification of migrant workers, especially in security-sensitive regions such as Bastar.