As many as 98 North Indian contract workers, who were taken to custody by Railway Police in Mandya after a group of ABVP activists accused them of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, were released by in Bengaluru on Thursday after they were identified as Indian national employed with various companies in Mangalore.
About 50 to 60 ABVP members, who were returning after attending a conference in Bengaluru by the Mangalore-bound Mangala Express on Wednesday night, noticed a big group of 98 North Indians travelling in the same compartment. As they were speaking in Hindi, the ABVP activist mistook them for Bangladeshis, and asked for their ID cards and other documents. The activists even detained the train for half-an-hour by pulling the chain at Mandya railway station around 10.30 pm, demanding the police to arrest the ‘Bangladeshis’, Mandya Railway Police Inspector Mr Gopalakrishna said.
Following the protest, Mandya police took all the 98 North Indians into custody and Railway DySP, who immediately arrived there, conducted an enquiry and found out that they were in fact Indians, who included 32 Hindus and 56 Muslims. All the 98 people were taken to Bengaluru on Thursday and released to their respective employers, Mr Gopalakrishna added. Railway DySP Mir Arif Ali said the 98 people were from North Indian states including West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Rajasthan, who worked in various companies in Mangalore, who were returning to work. He also said the Mandya station master has lodged a complaint with Mandya Railway Police against the ABVP members for holding up the train.