Around 200 tourists from Odisha were subjected to a hostile situation in West Bengal when some people reportedly detained them and damaged their vehicles on Tuesday.
The tourists from Mitrapur in Balasore’s Nilagiri area had gone to Khadika under the limits of Keshpur police station in the Medinipur district of West Bengal, as per Odisha TV. Additionally, some tourists from Balasore had also gone there in two buses.
They were allegedly detained by the locals who damaged the windshield of the bus. The distressed tourists released a video message seeking immediate help for their release and later they were rescued by the police.
Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi also intervened and discussed with Odisha CM Mohan Majhi.
“They had detained us and damaged the windshield of the buses. The police have rescued us. We are now in the police station," said one of the tourists, Sandeep Panigrahi, quoted by Odisha TV.
The people had gheraoed the police station, the tourist said.
"Now our people are safe. They were attacked by some terrorists in West Bengal's Medinipur. As soon as I received the information, I talked to the Odisha CM after which I approached the SP, DM, and DG. The situation is under control. And I have asked the administration to drop the people of Odisha off till the border with proper escort...," the Balasore MP said.
According to Panigrahi, the people in Medinipur had detained the tourists alleging that some residents from West Bengal were being harassed in Odisha after being labelled as Bangladeshi nationals.
In the aftermath of Bangladesh unrest, some Bengali-speaking construction workers allegedly faced harassment by vigilante groups in Sambalpur, Bhadrak and Kendrapada districts.
The vigilante groups asked these workers to show their residents certificates, suspecting them to be Bangladeshi migrants, reported The Times of India.
Following reports of harassment, state police issued a stern warning to such vigilante groups warning them not to engage in moral policing.
On Sunday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to her Odisha counterpart and requested him to look into the alleged incidents of assault on workers and labourers from her state.