Nine migrant labourers from West Bengal were detained by the Kondagaon police in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region for allegedly staying in the district for several days without submitting the required documents to the local authorities.
The action was taken under BNSS section 128 (security for good behaviour from suspected persons).”
A habeas corpus petition was filed on Monday before the Chhattisgarh High Court.
According to Indian express report , the labourers had been freed on Monday evening following a letter given to them by the district administration.
Calling it a “State sponsored kidnapping,” TMC MP Mahua Moitra alleged that nine labourers from her constituency, who were working as masons at a private school construction site in Albedapada, Kondagaon district, were picked up by the police on July 12.
The labourers are from the constituency of Krishna Nagar,Moitra’s constituency.
“They were staying at the site when the police came and took them away. All of them had valid documents,” she said, adding that their phones have been switched off since.
According to their families, the men have been lodged in Jagdalpur jail in the neighbouring Bastar district.
She further claimed that these were “nine bona fide workers who had gone with a contractor with proper documentation.”
Alleging a complete lack of communication, she said, “The government of West Bengal and the families have not been informed. We have not received a copy of the detention order or any notice of a hearing. They had no access to a lawyer or even a phone call.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.