Migrant worker from Bengal lynched in Odisha’s Sambalpur; police say 6 arrested

The deceased was identified as Juel Sheikh (30), a daily wage labourer who had been working in the area.

Updated on: Dec 25, 2025, 20:26:49 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, Bhubaneswar

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Six people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 30-year-old labourer from West Bengal who was thrashed to death in Odisha’s Sambalpur district on Wednesday evening, police said.

The deceased was identified as Juel Sheikh (30), a daily wage labourer from Bengal’s Murshidabad district, who recently came to Sambalpur along with two others, Akhir Sheikh and Palash Sheikh.

Sambalpur additional superintendent of police (Addl SP) Shrimanta Barik said the six suspects have been arrested for the murder but countered reports that Juel was killed over suspicion that he was an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh.

This murder was a result of sudden provocation over beedi and not a targeted attack, Barik said.

“The murder is related to sudden provocation over asking for beedi by the assailants from the victims who refused to give. It is not regarding targeting anyone,” he said.

The police statement came after the TMC mounted a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over reports that one of the injured linked the attack to a campaign against illegal Bangladeshis.

Akhir Sheikh, who was with Juel, told reporters that they were at a tea stall when the accused confronted them on Wednesday evening, claimed they were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and asked them to prove their nationality.

Akhir said they produced their identification papers but the situation got out of hand and the accused started assaulting them. The others ran away but the assailants caught hold of Juel and thrashed him. He succumbed to his injuries on the spot.

Police said Juel’s body was sent for autopsy while the two injured labourers were being treated in hospital.

In Bengal, TMC leaders said that three migrant workers were from Murshidabad district in West Bengal went to Sambalpur on December 20.

"Once again Bengali speaking migrant workers targeted in BJP-ruled state. In Odisha's Sambalpur one from Murshidabad lynched to death and two others injured after BJP goons attacked them & labelled them as Bangladeshi infiltrators. How many lives of innocent Bengali speaking people the BJP wants? This is nothing but another example on how BJP treats Bengalis. Now the time has come to throw BJP out and common people of Bengal will teach Bangla-Birodhi BJP a lesson democratically in upcoming polls," Samirul Islam, TMC Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of the state migrant workers welfare board, wrote on X.

In May this year, around 40 migrant workers from Malda, West Bengal, had to return home after allegedly being attacked in Sambalpur for being “Bengali.”

The workers, hailing from Harishchandrapur, Chanchal, and Ratua areas, claimed they were abused and assaulted after revealing their state of origin. “They didn’t ask our religion, only our native language and state,” a victim had claimed at the time.

(with inputs from Joydeep in Kolkata)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

Sambalpur District

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