A small patch of land around 30 km southwest of Martello Tower and Sidhu Kanu Park in Jharkhand’s Pakur district town became a battleground this July between adivasis and Muslims over ownership, four months ahead of assembly polls, with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma raising the allegation of “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants” grabbing land from indigenous people, carrying clear undertones of the familiar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) narrative in the Northeastern state. The Muslims were accused of encroaching on tribal land and retaliating violently when opposed. The clashes stopped only after Section 144 was imposed in Gaibthan village of Maheshpur block in the Santhal Pargana region. When Sarma and BJP State President Babulal Marandi visited the area a few days after the clashes, both linked the Muslim residents of Gaibthan village to Bangladeshi infiltration.