Deleted in SIR, four Bengal men now locked at Chhattisgarh detention centre for over a month
Four migrant workers from West Bengal remain detained in a Chhattisgarh holding center after their names were removed from the voters list during a revision exercise. Despite their families providing documentation of long-term residency, authorities continue to suspect them of being illegal immigrants.
Why it matters
This case highlights the potential for administrative errors in voter registration to lead to severe human rights consequences for migrant laborers.
After their names were deleted from the voters list during the recent special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, four migrant workers from West Bengal’s Murshidabad now find themselves in an uncanny situation. It’s been a month; they have been detained by Chhattisgarh Police and lodged at a detention centre in Raipur on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals despite being a long-time resident of India over generations.
Late in August, at least 23 migrant workers, including the four persons Sabir Sheikh (42), Safikul Islam (39), Nasiruddin Sheikh (35), and Laltu Sheikh (28) from Murshidabad’s Samserganj and Sahabad areas, went to Chhattisgarh in search of work, where they have also been selling goods house-to-house in Bilaspur area.
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