The 37-year-old is back in Mumbai now, working as a construction worker. “I fear I may be picked up again and thrown out. But I have to support my wife and two sons, pay their school fees.”
Minarul, who procures hair to sell to the wig-making industry, has moved shop to Kashmir. The chances of being singled out in the high-security Valley are even higher, and a nervous Minarul refuses to give his exact location. But, he must live with the risk, he adds. “After we were brought back, we received no help from the government. On the other hand, the people who owed me money took advantage of what had happened and refused to pay me, though I had to sell my family’s 1 bigha land to repay loans I had. Now I am in Kashmir to restart my life.”
While his name cleared the SIR without any hiccup, all five of his brothers were called for hearings before inclusion in the voting list. His brother Moijul, who works as a migrant worker in Assam, says over the phone that they urged him to stay at home, particularly because his business ran aground after he was branded a Bangladeshi, but he left.
Besides Mehbub and Minarul, the seven deported and brought back included Nazimuddin Sheikh and Shamim Khan of Hariharpara in Murshidabad, Mostafa Kamal Sheikh of Monteshwar, Purba Bardhaman, and Fazer Sheikh and his wife Taslima, of Bagda in North 24 Parganas.
The Indian Express also tracked down Shamim and Mostafa. Like Mehbub, both are back in Mumbai, after having tried and failed to make ends meet in Bengal.
‘Felicitated by Trinamool leaders’
The earlier Trinamool Congress government promised them all the help needed when they were brought back, seeking to put the BJP-led Centre in a spot. But, Mehbub says, little actually transpired. “I was felicitated by local TMC leaders. Some also promised jobs. But nothing happened. I tried to get work in Bengal, but the daily wage was Rs 650 and that too was not certain.”
When the Bengal Assembly elections brought the BJP to power in Bengal, Mehbub decided to head again for Mumbai. Claiming he had to re-make his documents as they were destroyed during his detention, Mehbub says that, to his relief, all his family cleared the SIR. “I also have a police certificate verifying that I am a resident of Murshidabad.”
All this gives him confidence that Mumbai is “safe” for him. “Here, I earn at least Rs 35,000-45,000 a month.”
Mostafa, 53, a resident of Uttarpara area of Baghra village, returned to Mumbai early last month, after trying to stay home in Bengal. “I had sold jhalmuri in Mumbai for 10 years before I was picked up. After the ordeal in Bangladesh, I tried to settle in Bengal. I applied for a new voter card, Aadhaar card and e-shram card, as they had all been taken by police. I also tried working as a jhalmuri vendor near my house. But my daily profit was barely Rs 250-300… compared to around Rs 1,200 in Mumbai.”
Mostafa, who is back staying in a small rented room in Nalasapora, admits another reason is that he is “used to Mumbai city life” now. “I can’t stay in the village.”
Names in SIR, mother’s entry missing
He adds that while his name is in the SIR, along with that of his two brothers and a sister, his mother’s case is stuck with the tribunals due to “a name mismatch”. “In the 2002 voter list, her name is Terima Bibi, while in her Aadhaar, it is Terima Khatun.”
Shamin, 30, is back in Mumbai along with his wife and six-year-old daughter. He also talks of being feted by TMC leaders after he was brought back from Bangladesh. “But I could not stay back as I did not get any work. So, after the elections, I left for Mumbai and joined work as a mason,” says Shamim.
While all his family members are in the voter list after the SIR, his wife is “scared”, he admits. “But what to do? Money matters.”
Samirul Islam, the chairman of the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board under the TMC government, and a Rajya Sabha MP, says: “We proved that the seven are residents of Bengal and citizens of India. Police verified and sent a report to the Centre… We hope that the new, double-engine government provides them employment opportunities, so that our youths do not have to migrate.”
Mostafa says the deportation episode is vivid in his mind. “We were taken from one police station to another in Mumbai for three days, before finally being handed over to the BSF in Pune. We were not allowed to keep our cellphones, keys to our rooms, or any belongings. From Pune, around 130 of us were flown to Agartala in a BSF aircraft, and then taken on buses to near the Bangladesh border. There, we were divided into small groups. Around 3 am, they led us to the border, gave us 300 Taka, some food in a plastic packet and a water bottle. Wielding their batons, BSF personnel then drove us towards Bangladesh and asked us not to return. We ran towards Bangladesh, it was dark,” says the 53-year-old.
He says that villagers in Bangladesh helped them make phone calls home, and informed the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). The BGB made all of them assemble in a field. On June 15, the BGB handed them back to the BSF, which transferred them to the Bengal Police.
“Preventing illegal immigration is both the right and the responsibility of the State. However, any ‘Detect, Delete and Deport’ policy must be implemented with due process, including proper investigation, credible evidence, and an opportunity to be heard. While national security is essential, the rights and dignity of innocent Indian citizens, especially Bengali-speaking migrant workers, must be equally protected,” said Asif Faruk, state general secretary of Parijayee Shramik Aikya Manch (Migrant Workers Unity Forum) state general secretary.
“Workers in many other Indian states earn nearly twice or even more for the same work compared to West Bengal. As a result, thousands of workers from Bengal are compelled to migrate in search of a livelihood, where many have faced harassment, humiliation, and even the risk of being wrongly labelled as Bangladeshis and subjected to push-outs,” Faruk added.
One of the most known cases of a person branded Bangladeshi, pushed across the border and brought back was of a pregnant Sunali Khatun, of Birbhum. She was detained in Delhi and deported in June last year to Bangladesh along with husband Danish, their eight-year-old son, and another family.
On December 5, 2025, Sunali and her son were brought back to India following a Supreme Court order. When she had her delivery the next month, senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee visited her and named her newborn “Apon (meaning one’s own)”.
Speaking to The Indian Express from Birbhum, Sunali says her life is worse than before. “I have not gone back to Delhi. My brother, who drives a Toto (an e-rickshaw) supports me. He earns Rs 200-300 daily. How will I bring up my children like this?”
In May, the Centre promised to the Supreme Court that the others detained along with Sunali, including her husband Dinesh, would also be brought back and their status determined after that.
Sunali says Danish and the others are still on the other side of the border. “It has been days since I spoke with him.”
(From left) Mostafa Kamal Sheikh, Shamim Khan and Mehbub Sheikh were among the group of seven picked up in Mumbai and pushed into Bangladesh. (Express) 
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