In a week, 3 migrants severely hurt in police assault in Haryana

Raiganj: In a week of escalating unrest, two more migrant workers from Goalpokhar in North Dinajpur were severely injured, alleging torture by Haryana police, a harrowing echo of the earlier case of Juned Alam from Gedrigauch who suffered a fractured leg after a three‑day police interrogation in Panipat.

Sabbir Alam (48), the factory worker from Rijuvita village, Goalpokhar, was allegedly detained by police a day after sharing a workspace with Juned Alam. According to family members, after showing valid Aadhaar and voter ID, he was accosted by officers demanding he admit to being Bangladeshi. When he refused, he was forced to lie down and was beaten up, resulting in a broken leg, he alleged. His worried wife, now back in North Dinajpur, has demanded state compensation.

Md Kabir, a resident of Solpara, shared on social media a graphic video showing his lower leg immobilised in a plaster cast. He alleges that police assault involved baton strikes and forceful leg compression. Kabir says all his cash was confiscated during the assault. With family funds depleted, his father, Ajifat Ali, and two siblings travelled to Haryana late Sunday hoping to bring him home.

Ajifat Ali,the father of Kabir said: “Our family was being run with the money earned by my son. But he is now injured owing to a police assault in Haryana. We are worried. We do not know how we will manage daily expenses without him earning it’s a very difficult time.”

On July 25, Panipat police detained Juned Alam on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi national because he spoke Bengali, despite showing original identity documents. He says two officers restrained him while others beat him relentlessly with batons, fracturing his left leg. After several hours of unconsciousness, co-workers intervened; he was discharged the next day and returned to Goalpokhar on July 28, unable to walk without support.

Shortly after his return to Bengal, Juned’s family took him to a Private Nursing home in Kishanganj of Bihar to verify the state of his injury and arrange follow‑up care. However, the staff reportedly refused to treat him citing fears of harassment by police and potential administrative complications, forcing the family to abandon further diagnosis and return home without

medical clearance.

Ghulam Rabbani, minister for Non‑Conventional & Renewable Energy, Government of West Bengal and MLA, Goalpokhar has accused police in BJP‑ruled states of physically assaulting Bengali‑speaking migrant workers and said: “Our migrant workers are being assaulted by police in BJP‑ruled states for speaking in Bengali.

In one week, the legs of three Goalpokhar migrants were broken. We have urged them to return immediately and assured them that the state government is arranging local employment for them.”

Meanwhile, a group of 100 migrant workers belonging from South Dinajpur’s Gangarampur subdivision returned from Haryana on Monday, alleging harassment. The workers, who were employed in various areas, including Gurgaon, claimed they had faced growing hostility in recent days.

According to them, repeated verbal abuse and intimidation in markets and on roads forced them to leave. Fearing for their safety, the group, which included women and children, hired a private bus and returned home after a three-day journey.

Saidul Islam, one of the workers, said: “Despite having Aadhaar and voter cards, we were treated like outsiders. The police and officials called us Bangladeshis and claimed our documents were fake. We left out of fear. Now we are unsure how to earn a living here.”

Meanwhile, the South Dinajpur Labour department has intensified the registration process for migrant workers.