10 labourers from Bengal kidnapped in Tamil Nadu; rescued in inter-State operation

Ten labourers from West Bengal were kidnapped while travelling to Kerala for work in Salem railway station in Tamil Nadu. A joint operation between West Bengal and Tamil Nadu Police successfully rescued the abducted men.

The 10 men were reportedly from Murshidabad and Birbhum districts of West Bengal and headed towards Kerala for work.

All of them were rescued on Friday (March 28, 2025) night after a joint operation between West Bengal and Tamil Nadu Police. The police tracked phone signals to find the kidnapped victims.

“They were abducted by people from Tamil Nadu under the pretence of providing them with work. They were demanding a ransom from the families. We got involved after we received a complaint from the families here,” Raspreet Singh, Additional Superintendent of Police told The Hindu.

The men left for Kerala on Wednesday (March 26, 2025), but upon getting down at Salem railway station, they were reportedly taken to a secret hideout and beaten up. West Bengal Police tracked the location of the kidnapped workers’ mobile telephone towers and got in touch with their counterparts in Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu Police used the location to conduct raids and rescued the 10 labourers.

A family member of one of the abducted workers alleged that they were shown videos of how their family members were tortured to extract money from them.

According to sources, the 10 labourers are going through regular legal procedure at Tamil Nadu before they are released and brought back home.

This incident has once again brought to light the huge number of migrant workers who travel from West Bengal to other States in search of work.

According to official data, about 21.67 lakh migrants have registered on the portal of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board.

A few months ago in October 2024, the migrant workers issue came to the fore when a man from Bengal allegedly died of starvation in Chennai. It led to a political war of words between the ruling Trinamool Congress and Opposition Bhartiya Janta Party leaders.