West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday claimed that a 24-year-old migrant worker from the state was murdered in Maharashtra for speaking in the Bengali language.
Banerjee termed it a "hate crime" and demanded the immediate arrest of the perpetrators.
"I am shaken, enraged, and sickened beyond words by the barbaric murder of Sukhen Mahato, a 24-year-old migrant worker from Bandwan in Purulia, the sole earning member of his family, in Pune, Maharashtra," the CM said in an X post.
"This is nothing short of a hate crime. A young man was hunted, tortured, and murdered for his language, his identity, his roots," she said.
"This is the direct consequence of a climate where xenophobia is weaponised and innocents are turned into targets," the CM added.
She demanded the immediate arrest of the accused and exemplary punishment for them.
"To Sukhen's family, I say that West Bengal stands with you in this hour of unimaginable grief. No effort will be spared to secure justice," she added.
{{/usCountry}}"To Sukhen's family, I say that West Bengal stands with you in this hour of unimaginable grief. No effort will be spared to secure justice," she added.
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