Bengal: Protest erupts over migrant's death; rail, NH-12 blockades snap north-south link for hours

Kolkata, Jan 16 (PTI) A wave of violent protests over the death of a migrant worker in Jharkhand brought parts of West Bengal's Murshidabad district to a standstill on Friday, as angry locals blocked railway tracks and National Highway-12 for hours, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and disrupting vehicular movement on the arterial road, police said.

Tensions flared as sections of the mob vandalised a traffic kiosk and damaged a police vehicle during clashes with the police. Brickbatting left at least 12 people injured, several of them media personnel.

A woman journalist from a Bengali news channel was allegedly assaulted by unruly protesters while covering the agitation, drawing sharp condemnation from media bodies.

Another journalist sustained serious injuries and was admitted to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital.

The flashpoint was the death of 36-year-old Alauddin Sheikh, a resident of Sujapur Kumarpur gram panchayat area of Beldanga in the minority-dominated Murshidabad district, whose body was recovered from his rented accommodation in Jharkhand, where he worked as a scrap dealer.

Family members and villagers alleged that he was beaten to death and later hung to make it appear like suicide, triggering widespread outrage after his body was brought to the village on Friday morning.

From around 9 am, hundreds of protesters squatted on the Sealdah-Lalgola railway line at Maheshpur, placing bamboo poles on the tracks, while others blocked NH-12 by burning tyres, effectively snapping rail and road connectivity between north and south Bengal.

Several local and long-distance trains were halted, and hundreds of buses and trucks remained stranded on the highway.

"The situation became volatile as emotions ran high. Protesters were demanding immediate arrests, exemplary punishment for the culprits and assurances of safety for migrant workers from the district," a senior police officer said.

The blockade paralysed the region for hours, with north- and south-bound traffic coming to a grinding halt. After prolonged negotiations involving senior district officials, rail and road movement gradually resumed around mid-afternoon.

One Kolkata-bound train and two Lalgola-bound trains were allowed to depart from different stations in Murshidabad, while vehicular traffic on NH-12 slowly normalised, the police officer said.

Former Berhampore MP and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury visited the deceased's house and met family members, lending a political edge to the agitation.

"These migrant workers sweat it out every day to keep their families afloat. They are not criminals. Why are they being asked to prove their identity and branded as Bangladeshis outside the state?" Chowdhury said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, before leaving for a tour of north Bengal, appealed for calm and restraint.

"There are provocations in Beldanga, you know who is behind them. I urge everyone to maintain peace and not fall into any trap. The anger is understandable, but journalists must not be attacked," she said, alleging that attempts were being made to "deliberately stoke unrest" in the state, with the" BJP and central agencies playing a role".

Banerjee also linked the growing unrest to what she termed harassment of Bengali-speaking people and the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing the poll panel of creating panic by rejecting documents like Aadhaar cards and secondary school admit cards.

"People are being served notices on WhatsApp. Names of tribals are being deleted. Where will common people go?" she asked.

Protesters on the ground echoed similar sentiments.

"People from Murshidabad are being targeted outside Bengal just for speaking Bengali. We want justice and safety for our migrant workers," a demonstrator said.

The deceased's mother, Sona Bibi, broke down while recounting her last conversation with her son.

"He told me the situation there was bad, and he was scared. My son said he would return home if he got a chance. They killed my son and then hung his body," she alleged.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari criticised the state police for failing to control the situation, urging the Director General of Police to take immediate action.

"NH-12 has been blocked for hours, trains stopped, stones are being hurled and goons are running amok. Yet, the police have done nothing," he said.

Senior officers, including Murshidabad superintendent of police and district magistrate, held multiple rounds of talks with protesters, assuring them that a thorough investigation into the migrant worker's death was underway and that the family would receive justice.

Police said peace was restored by evening, but tension lingered in the area as security was stepped up to prevent any fresh flare-up. PTI BSM PNT BDC