Back from Bangladesh, Bengali worker wants justice. Family alleges BSF cover-up

The phone calls came a day before a crucial court hearing.

On August 13, the Calcutta High Court was to hear Jiyem Sekh’s petition asking the government of India to explain why his son Amir Sk had been forcibly sent to Bangladesh.

Amir, a 19-year old from Malda, West Bengal, had travelled across the country to find work on a construction site in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. In June, his family lost touch with him. A month later, a video surfaced on social media showing him sobbing. “I am in Bangladesh,” he said in the video. “The BSF pushed me across the border,” he said, referring to India’s Border Security Force.

The video left the family horrified. They knew Amir had fallen prey to a campaign underway in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, where in search of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, the police had detained and interrogated thousands of migrant workers from West Bengal. What they did not expect was that he had been forced across the border into Bangladesh.

Amir’s father moved court on August 7.

Before the court could hear the petition, Amir’s uncle Ajmaul Sekh received a series of phone calls. The callers identified themselves as BSF officials. They said Amir was in their care.

“They told me...

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