Migrants Wrongly Jailed as"Bangladeshis" in Maharashtra

 “Vote Matters”

          Kamal Kumar Biswas         

               Senior Correspondent                    

In a chilling reminder of how language and identity can override citizenship, two Bengali-speaking migrant workers from West Bengal’s South Dinajpur district were illegally branded as “Bangladeshis” and locked up in a Maharashtra jail for nearly six months—despite being documented Indian voters whose names appear on the electoral rolls.Asit Sarkar (54) of Lakshmipur in Balurghat block and Gautam Barman (42) of Pulinda village in Gangarampur block were arrested in April 2025 in Bhiwandi, on the outskirts of Mumbai. It is alleged that acting on crude linguistic profiling,Maharashtra Police invoked the Foreigners Act against the two men, accusing them of illegal entry and residence in India—solely because they spoke Bengali.

For nearly half a year, the two migrant labourers languished in Thane jail while their families pleaded in desperation before administration after administration. Their ordeal exposed a brutal reality: citizenship documents and voting rights mean little when language becomes grounds for incarceration.Senior leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP and Chairman of the West Bengal Migrant Workers’ Welfare Board Samirul Islam, took up the case and arranged sustained legal support. Land records, identity documents, and proof of residence were produced before the court. Most damningly, both Asit Sarkar and Gautam Barman were found to be listed in the draft electoral rolls (SIR)—clear proof that they are legitimate Indian voters.

In November 2025, the court, after examining the evidence, granted them interim bail.On Saturday, the two workers were brought back from Maharashtra to Kolkata. On Sunday evening, they met Trinamool Congress’s All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who assured them of unwavering legal and institutional support. After six months of wrongful imprisonment, the men were visibly relieved to return to their home state.Following Abhisek Banerjee’s directive, the workers are now being escorted from Kolkata to their homes by Ambarish Sarkar, President of the South Dinajpur district unit of the Trinamool Youth Congress. They are expected to reach home on Monday.The episode carries an explosive political irony.As pointed out by TMC leader Aparupa Poddar, Gautam Barman is himself a BJP booth president. Despite this, after his arrest, his wife’s repeated appeals to Union Minister Dr.Sukanta Majumdar allegedly went unanswered—underscoring what TMC leaders describe as “selective silence and political cowardice.”

Meeting With Workers 

After meeting the workers, Abhishek Banerjee launched a blistering attack, saying:

“Speaking Bengali has effectively become a criminal offence in BJP-ruled states. Thousands have faced harassment in the last six months. Two men from Gangarampur and Balurghat were dumped into a Maharashtra jail after being branded Bangladeshis. Their MP chose submission to Delhi over duty to his own people.”

No response has been received from Sukanta Majumdar on the matter so far. BJP’s South Dinajpur district general secretary Bapi Sarkar, however, claimed that the bail was secured due to the Union Minister’s intervention.

The case has reignited fierce accusations that Bengali-speaking migrant workers are being systematically targeted, humiliated, and criminalised in BJP-ruled states. Beyond individual suffering, the incident raises a fundamental question about India’s democracy.When legally registered voters can be jailed as “foreigners” merely for speaking their mother tongue, the message is unmistakable: vote matters—but only if your language and identity fit the ruling narrative.