West Bengal: Murshidabad Protests Erupt After Migrant Worker’s Death, NH-12 Blocked

January 16, 2026

Kolkata: Locals in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district blocked National Highway 12 in Beldanga on Friday and burned tyres to protest. According to police, the protest was against alleged attacks on migrant workers from the district who had gone to other states, severely disrupting traffic on the busy highway.

A senior police officer told news agency PTI that the blockade began around 9 a.m. in Maheshpur in the Beldanga-1 area, causing a long traffic jam on the key road connecting the northern and southern parts of the state.

 Protests sparked by death of migrant worker

According to police, the protests began after news of the death of a migrant worker from Murshidabad who had gone to Jharkhand for work. Enraged by the incident, locals took to the streets in large numbers and blocked the highway.

 Allegations of attack for speaking Bengali

Protesters alleged that migrant workers from Murshidabad who have gone to other states are being harassed simply for speaking Bengali and are forced to work in unsafe conditions.

One protester said, “People from Murshidabad are being called Bangladeshis in other states. They are being persecuted simply for speaking Bengali. We demand strict action against those involved in such attacks.”

The protesters demanded strict action against the culprits, immediate compensation for the victim’s family, and the establishment of a permanent administrative system to protect workers from Murshidabad working in other states.

The jam remained unresolved despite police talks.

Senior police officers arrived at the scene and held several rounds of talks with the protesters to restore traffic. However, the protesters refused to end the protest and demanded that senior administrative officials personally visit the scene and provide concrete assurances, only then would they move off the highway.