SAMBALPUR: Nearly a week after a migrant labourer was allegedly murdered in Sambalpur, police investigation has drawn attention for the inconsistencies in official accounts and limited disclosure of information, even as all six accused in the case have been arrested.
On Wednesday night, police shared an account of the incident with mediapersons stating that the assailants had demanded money and mobile phones from the migrant workers, indicating a possible robbery angle. This version differed from the earlier accounts of the attack being an outcome of an argument over ‘bidi’, prompting questions over the sequence of events leading to the assault.
Further confusion arose over the treatment of the injured labourers. While police said they were taken to the district headquarters hospital, the workers were actually undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the city, leading to questions over the accuracy of official statements.
Despite repeated claims of swift arrests, police have so far not shared details about the identities or backgrounds of the accused, citing an ongoing investigation and a pending test identification parade. This apart, though a team of West Bengal police has visited Sambalpur to launch a parallel investigation, no information about the inquiry is available as of now.
Against this backdrop, a group of citizens on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the Sambalpur collector urging immediate steps to curb what they described as a growing atmosphere of hatred in the district. The memorandum stated that sustained narratives around religion, nationality and language were creating an environment where innocent youths were being radicalised, leading to crimes like the murder of 20-year-old Bengali migrant labourer Suhel Rana who had come to Sambalpur to eke out a living.
The memorandum called for strict action against those harassing migrant labourers under the guise of identifying illegal immigrants and also urged lawful action against any foreign national found residing in the district illegally.
On the evening of December 24, Suhel from Murshidabad in West Bengal along with two other migrant workers was standing at a tea shop in Shanti Nagar under Ainthapali police limits when a group of vigilantes arrived at the scene and reportedly confronted them about their identities.
The miscreants accused them of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The situation turned ugly as the vigilantes attacked the labourers while they were trying to produce their ID cards, leading to death of Suhel.