New Delhi: Eighteen migrant hawkers from West Bengal have been detained for five days by police in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district after allegedly being labelled as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, The Economic Times has reported.

The workers, all residents of Murshidabad district, were detained despite possessing valid Aadhaar and voter ID cards, according to a migrant rights forum.

Asif Faruk, general secretary of the Parijayee Sharmik Aikya Manch (Migrant Labourer Unity Forum), told the newspaper that his organisation had sought intervention from officials in West Bengal.

"We have written a letter to the Murshidabad district magistrate and joint labour commissioner of the district and sought help so that they can be released," Faruk said.

The brother of one detained man explained that the situation escalated after an initial police action. Anisur Rahman, whose brother Arizul Sekh is among those held, said that police first detained four or five of the migrants.

Their landlord then told the remaining workers to go to the Nagar police station with their identity documents for verification.

"They went to the police station and were detained as Bangladeshis," Rahman told ET.

According to the report, police in Murshidabad have sent an email to their counterparts in Basti verifying the migrants' identities, but the men have not yet been released.

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