West Bengal’s firebrand Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is seething over the lynching-style killing of a Purulia migrant in Pune. She branded the attack a hate crime, decrying the weaponization of regional animosity against defenseless workers.
Sukhen Mahato, 24, from Bandwan, was the family’s only earner. His death in Pune has Banerjee reeling. Via X, she shared footage and poured out her heart: ‘Words fail me—I’m distraught, enraged, heartbroken. This barbaric murder of Sukhen Mahato in Pune is unforgivable.’
Diving deeper, she diagnosed the root: ‘Undeniably a hate crime. He was singled out for speaking his language, embracing his identity, tied to his roots—then tortured to death. Xenophobia is the poison fueling this.’
Her demands are unequivocal: immediate arrests and maximum sentences. ‘Culprits must be nabbed now and punished severely,’ she insisted. To the bereaved kin: ‘Bengal is with you through this profound loss. Justice will prevail, come what may.’
Not new territory for Banerjee, who has long championed Bengali migrants facing assaults, especially in BJP territories. Her critiques often target Delhi for inaction on such flare-ups.
Recounting the horror: Since 2021, Sukhen toiled at a Pune car parts firm near Koregaon Bhima. Wednesday saw his body recovered in Shikarpur area, beaten brutally for conversing in Bengali, per police and locals. Tulsiram Mahato, his brother, registered the murder case.
The episode exposes fault lines in India’s internal migration story—economic necessity clashing with parochial hatreds. Banerjee’s vocal stance amplifies the urgency, compelling a national reckoning on protecting the mobile workforce that powers the economy.