How police drives against ‘Bangladeshis’ bypassed rules, pushed Indian citizens across border

Mehebub Sheikh from Murshidabad, West Bengal, was detained by Maharashtra Police on June 9. Four days later, he was forced into Bangladesh, he said. Sunali Khatun from Birbhum, her husband and son were taken into custody in Delhi on June 20. All three were sent to Bangladesh six days later, police documents show.

In both cases, the police failed to follow the process for such deportations laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Scroll has found.

In a letter sent to all states and union territories on May 2, the home ministry had mandated that suspected illegal immigrants be detained in a “holding centre” for 30 days while authorities in their declared home states and districts are asked to verify their claims of citizenship.

Had the police in Mumbai and Delhi waited for a verification report from West Bengal, they would have learnt, as Scroll did while reporting from the state, that both Sheikh and Khatun belong to families with land records dating back several generations.

Despite having documents that prove they are Indian citizens, Sheikh and Khatun ended up in Bangladesh. Sheikh is back in West Bengal. But Khatun, who is pregnant, and her family are still stranded across the border, where they are battling the charge of being “illegal infiltrators”.

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