The killing of a migrant worker from West Bengal’s Murshidabad, in Odisha’s Sambalpur, drew a strong reaction from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership on Thursday (December 25, 2025), who claimed that the worker was “murdered for speaking Bengali”.
Juyel Rana (19), who had gone to Odisha for work with a group of youths, was allegedly attacked by a group of people who wanted to see his identity documents. Rana’s family members said he had gone to work on December 20 and was killed for no fault of his own.
Local police and TMC leaders visited Rana’s house. Suti MLA Emani Biswas said the youth was killed in the BJP-ruled State for speaking Bengali and on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi.
Migrant worker from Bengal dies after being attacked by locals in Odisha
Senior TMC leader and Minister Shashi Panja held a press conference in Kolkata and asked, “How long will Bengalis be punished just because Bengal did not bow down to the BJP? How many lives will this politics of hatred claim? Is the only crime of those who work hard, with honour, and demand civil rights that they speak Bengali?”
