Mamata Banerjee calls migrant worker’s death in Pune an outcome of ‘hate crime’

A young Bengali migrant worker’s death in Maharashtra provoked outrage in West Bengal with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (February 12, 2026) terming it a “hate crime”.

Sukhen Mahato, 24, who hailed from Bandwan in Purulia district, was found dead in Koregaon area of Pune in Maharashtra on Tuesday (February 10, 2026) morning. The migrant worker earned a living at a factory that makes spare parts of vehicles and did not return to his home in Pune on Monday (February 9, 2026) night, police said.

‘Sickened beyond words’

“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. This is nothing short of a hate crime. A young man was hunted, tortured, and murdered for his language, his identity, his roots,” Ms. Banerjee posted on social media.

There has been a spike in the number of attacks on migrant workers from West Bengal in several States across the country. Last month, the death of 30-year-old migrant worker Alauddin Sheikh in Jharkhand had triggered violence in West Bengal as protesters blocked roads and railway lines. Later, the police concluded that the death of the migrant worker was due to suicide.

Regarding Mahato’s death, Chief Minister Ms. Banerjee said it was “the direct consequence of a climate where xenophobia is weaponised and innocents are turned into targets”.

Seeking “immediate arrests and exemplary punishment of the perpetrators”, the Trinamool Congress chairperson said: “Bengal stands with you in this hour of unimaginable grief. No effort will be spared to secure justice.”

In the name of a nation: The Bengali migrant worker and Indian citizenship

Attacked for speaking Bengali: father

While there were reports that police in Pune stated that the migrant worker got embroiled in a fight with locals in a drunken state, Dhiren Mahato, the father of the deceased migrant worker, said that his son was targeted for speaking in Bengali.

Local Trinamool Congress leaders visited the residence of the deceased migrant worker in Purulia. On Friday, Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will visit Mahato’s house and meet the bereaved family members.

The harassment, detention and attack on migrant workers from West Bengal in different parts of the country after May 2025 has become a political issue with the Trinamool Congress linking it with Bengali language and identity. The Trinamool Congress claims that such attacks are happening in a targeted manner on migrant workers speaking in Bengali.

After a notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to identify Bangladeshi nationals in May 2025, thousands of Bengali-speaking migrant workers were detained for days in holding centres across several States. Some persons who were detained from Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of the country were forcibly pushed into Bangladesh.