Overview
- The victim was identified as Juel (Jewel) Sheikh, 30, a construction worker from Murshidabad, who was attacked in Sambalpur’s Shantinagar area on Wednesday night.
- Co-workers say a group confronted them at a tea stall, accused them of being Bangladeshis, demanded IDs, and then beat Sheikh to death after the men showed Aadhaar cards.
- Odisha Police state the case stems from a sudden altercation involving a bidi and not a targeted attack based on nationality, with all six suspects now in custody.
- Two other workers, Akir Sheikh and Palash Sheikh, were injured and are hospitalised in stable condition, and a post-mortem is expected as the probe continues.
- West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress condemned the killing and linked it to hostility toward Bengali migrants in BJP-ruled states, a narrative Odisha Police reject.