Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday directed Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to look into the case of a 50-year-old farmer from Cooch Behar being allegedly abducted by a group of Bangladesh nationals and later arrested in the neighbouring country.

Asserting that the “primary job is to bring him back,” the chief minister said: “We have identified some of those who were behind this.”

“Talks will be held between the two governments. It would be better if you (the media) did not create a controversy. Our job is to bring him back,” Banerjee told mediapersons at the state secretariat.

Hinting that the farmer was “trapped”, she said, “If you people read news about him, you will come to know what happened exactly. Those who did it are “ghorer shotru bibhishon” (traitor)… No political party has the right to label anyone, either as a citizen or a foreigner. If he was not a citizen, then how was he farming the land? He was picked up from his land.”

“You can solve many problems by keeping calm. Our job is to bring him back,” she added.

The farmer, identified as Ukil Burman, was doing agricultural work in his land in Dinhata in Cooch Behar district, when a group of miscreants from across the border abducted him last month.

PTI adds: Former TMC president of Cooch Behar district Partha Pratim Roy said senior government officials were trying their level best to bring Burman back. “It’s been almost a month since Barman was abducted. Family members are worried. We have information that he is in a jail in Bangladesh. Senior officials of the government are looking into the matter. We are hoping for the best,” Roy said.

— With PTI Inputs