A 36-year-old man from West Bengal, who had gone to Maharashtra for work, was picked up by Maharashtra Police, suspecting him to be an illegal Bangladesh migrant, and was pushed across the border into the neighbouring country by the Border Security Force (BSF) in the wee hours of Saturday.
The Maharashtra Police and the BSF, according to the West Bengal government, pushed Mehbub Sheikh into Bangladesh despite intervention from the West Bengal Police, state Migrant Welfare Board and submission of necessary documents to prove his Indian citizenship.
“After Sheikh’s family approached us, we contacted the Maharashtra Police. All the (required) documents were sent to them. They didn’t even bother to inform the West Bengal government, and Sheikh was pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF,” Samirul Islam, chairman of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, told The Indian Express.
Sheikh’s family said they are residents of Hossainnagar village in Mahisasthali gram panchayat area of Bhagabangola in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. The 36-year-old worked as a mason in Maharashtra.
“For the past two years, he has been working in Maharashtra. He used to stay in the Mira Road area of Thane near Mumbai. Five days ago (Wednesday, June 11), while he was having tea, police picked him up, suspecting him to be a Bangladeshi, and took him to Kanakia police station,” Sheikh’s younger brother Mujibur told The Indian Express over the phone from Murshidabad.
“He called us from Kanakia police station. We immediately informed the local police and administration, as well as our panchayat pradhan and the migrant welfare board. They said they were in touch with the Maharashtra Police. By Friday, we sent all documents to Maharashtra Police, including Mehbub Sheikh’s voter card, Aadhaar Card, ration card, and even our family tree, running generations certified by the panchayat,” said Mujibur.
Shabbir Ahmed, pradhan of Mahisasthali gram panchayat, said that they rushed to Siliguri after coming to know that Mehbub Sheikh had been sent to a BSF camp there.
“On Friday (June 13), we were informed by the local police station that Maharashtra Police alerted them that Mehbub has been sent to a BSF camp in Siliguri. My brother Mujibur rushed to the camp. But we were not entertained there. They did not even listen to us,” the pradhan said.
According to the family, Mehbub Sheikh called them on Saturday (June 14), informing them that BSF pushed him into Bangladesh at 3.30 am.
“He said that he was pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF around 3.30 am on Saturday. He took shelter in a village from where he made the call. He was crying. He has a wife and three children. We just want him back. We don’t know how long he can survive in Bangladesh,” said Mujibur.
The Maharashtra Police defended their action, saying Mehbub “failed” to give documents to prove his nationality, adding that they don’t consider Aadhaar and PAN cards for proving citizenship.
“We are not at fault… On the police commissioner’s order to take action against illegal Bangladeshi migrants, we detained many suspects, including Mehbub Sheikh, on June 11. We demanded documents from them that could prove their nationality. Generally, we don’t consider Aadhaar and PAN cards for this purpose, as they can be fraudulently obtained. Hence, we asked him to produce his birth certificate or any strong proof. But he failed to produce the same and also did not provide any other document or his family’s documents to support his claim that he is Indian,” Meghna Burade, Senior Inspector at Mira Road police station in Thane, said.
4 days: Detention to Deportation
June 11: Mehbub Sheikh picked up from Thane
June 12: Sheikh’s family sends some documents
June 13: Maharashtra Police sends Mehbub to BSF, Siliguri, says they got documents after he was sent to West Bengal
June 14: Pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF around 3.30 am
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