Trinamool extends support to Bengal migrants after BJP leader ‘refuses help’

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday met Asit Sarkar and Goutam Barman, two migrant workers who were arrested, for allegedly being Bengali-speaking, under the Foreigners’ Act in Bhiwandi on the outskirts of Mumbai in April 2025.

Both Sarkar and Barman hail from Union minister and Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar’s Constituency. Their names also feature in the draft rolls prepared during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Goutam Barman is a BJP booth president.

After the arrest, Barman’s wife had approached Majumdar seeking assistance, but he allegedly refused to intervene, sources said. Subsequently, TMC leaders, including Samirul Islam, stepped in to provide legal and other support.

The duo was arrested on allegations of illegal entry and residence in India and was remanded to judicial custody. In November 2025, a competent court granted them one-month bail after considering land ownership records and identity documents issued in West Bengal.