The Border Security Force (BSF) pushed back 14 Bengali-speaking Muslims from Odisha into neighbouring Bangladesh after they were allegedly labelled Bangladeshi nationals.
The group, including four children, five men, and five women, with the oldest being 90 years old and the youngest just two years of age, was reportedly sent across the Gede border in Nadia district of West Bengal on December 26.
According to family members, many of the individuals pushed back had been living in Odisha for years, some even for decades. These families possess valid identification documents, Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID cards, ration cards, old land records, and more, Maktoob Media reported.
“Despite the documents, they were branded as Bangladeshis,” one of the relatives, Saiful Ali Khan, was quoted by the news website.
The families of the victims alleged that local police raided their houses, vandalised properties, detained all 14 of them, before delivering them to the BSF authorities.
Police refused to look at IDs
The victims were identified as Gulshan Bibi, 90, Sheikh Jabbar, 70, and his four sons – 45-year-old Sheikh Hakim, 40-year-old Sheikh Ukil, 38-year-old Sheikh Raja, and 28-year-old Sheikh Banti.
The BSF also pushed back 11-year-old Shakila Khatun, daughter of Sheikh Ukil, as well as 12-year-old Nasrin Parveen, 11-year-old Sheikh Touhid, and two-year-old Sheikh Rahid, all children of Sheikh Raja, and Alkum Bibi, 65, Samseri Bibi, 40, Sabera Bibi, 35, and Meherun Bibi, 25.
They were residents of Ambika village in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur under the Ersama police station, and were part of the same family.
The family stressed that they are Indian citizens. “They were detained simply because they speak Bengali. For nearly one-and-a-half months, we had no information about their whereabouts. When we went to the police station, we were threatened with being put in lockup. The police refused to even look at our documents,” Khan said.
Family living in Odisha for 70 years
Sheikh Alam, a relative of 70-year-old Sheikh Jabbar, said that the latter’s ancestors hailed from Namkhana in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district and migrated to Odisha nearly 70 years ago in search of work. He said all official documents of the family were issued in Odisha, where the younger generations were also born.
The family claimed they have been unable to establish contact with the detained members and alleged non-cooperation by the administration. They are unsure of the future.
Meanwhile, a report by Scroll.in states that the 14 individuals were allegedly shuttled between India and Bangladesh four times, with the BSF pushing them into Bangladesh three times. The individuals also claimed that the authorities threatened to open fire if they tried to return to India.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had said that India expelled more than 1,500 Muslim men, women, and children to Bangladesh between May 7 and June 15 of last year alone.
“India’s ruling BJP is fueling discrimination by arbitrarily expelling Bengali Muslims from the country, including Indian citizens,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities’ claims that they are managing irregular immigration are unconvincing given their disregard for due process rights, domestic guarantees, and international human rights standards.”
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