Kolkata: A Bangladesh court has ruled that six persons, including a pregnant woman, who were picked up from New Delhi and pushed into Bangladesh in June this year, were Indian citizens and should be sent back, and directed that the matter be forwarded to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka for further action.
The Bangladesh court’s judgement came days after a division bench of the Kolkata High Court on September 26 ordered the Indian government to bring back the six who were pushed into Bangladesh on orders from the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO).
The court order validated Trinamool Congress’ claim that there were attempts in the BJP-ruled states to deport migrant workers from West Bengal, branding them as “Bangladeshis”.
In its order, a Bangladesh court declared these people as Indian citizens, highlighting their Aadhaar cards and residential addresses in West Bengal. The magistrate also noted that the group included a pregnant woman, Sonali Khatun, and minors. The court directed that the Indian High Commission in Dhaka be notified and “appropriate action” be taken.
“The counsel for the accused persons has prayed that the Indian High Commission in Dhaka be ordered to take steps so that these people are pushed back into India, following Indian law. A copy of this order should be served to the Indian high commission,” the court order said.
According to the six victims, they were from West Bengal’s Birbhum district and had migrated to Delhi in search of employment. The six are Sunali Khatun, who is in her eighth month of pregnancy, her husband, Danish Sheikh, their minor son Sabir Sheikh, and another couple, Sweety Bibi and Kurban Sheikh, and their minor son Imam Dewan.
According to their petition in the Kolkata High Court, they were picked up from Rohini in northwest Delhi on June 24 on suspicion that they were illegal Bangladeshi immigrants because they speak Bengali and were pushed across the border on June 26 on the FRRO’s orders. The Kolkata High Court referred to the Foreigners Act, 1946, which was replaced by the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, and acknowledged that under Section 9 of the 1946 Act, it was for the person concerned to prove that they are not foreigners.
The six were subsequently arrested by Border Guard Bangladesh and jailed for illegally entering the country without travel documents under Bangladesh’s Control of Entry Act, 1952.
Trinamool Congress MP Samirul Islam, who is providing legal assistance to the six members of the two families of migrant workers, put out a copy of the Bangladesh court order on social media. According to this document, the court took note of their Aadhaar identity card and held that it was “evident during the hearing that all the accused persons are Indian citizens” and they had Aadhaar cards.
In a post on X, Islam stated: “...This exposes yet again how the anti-Bengal BJP cruelly targets poor Bengali-speaking people, labelling them as Bangladeshis and deporting them for no other reason than their language. We still remember how a few of BJP’s agents in Bengal tried to portray them as Rohingyas. Those attacks didn’t spare even me or my family. Yet, through all of this, our Chief Minister Mamata banerjee and our National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee have stood firmly beside these people, giving us courage and conviction to continue the fight. The Calcutta High Court had already directed that Sonali and others must be brought back within four weeks. Now, the question remains — when will the anti-Bengal Central Government finally bring Sonali and her companions home?’
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar, Mahua Moitra, on Friday expressed her dissatisfaction on social media after two Nadia residents were served an NRC notice. She said that it was a conspiracy by the BJP ahead of the 2026 Assembly election in Bengal. The Chief Minister had also raised her voice on Thursday after the two Nadia residents were served an NRC notice.