In a dramatic turnaround following a mistaken deportation, four Indian nationals — three from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district and one from Bardhaman — have been brought back to India from Bangladesh, authorities confirmed on Sunday. The repatriation operation was led by the Murshidabad District Police in coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
The four men — Mehbub Sheikh of Bhagwangola, Nazimuddin Mondal of Hariharpara, Minarul Sheikh of Beldanga (all in Murshidabad), and Mostafa Kamal Sheikh of Monteswar in Bardhaman — were detained in Mumbai under suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.
They were subsequently handed over to the BSF at Siliguri and deported across the border.
Upon learning of the deportation, Murshidabad Police said it immediately launched a probe and conducted local verifications to establish the Indian citizenship of the four individuals. Verified documents and proof of citizenship were compiled and submitted to the BSF.
According to a police statement, sustained coordination between the Murshidabad Police and the BSF led to an urgent flag meeting with their Bangladeshi counterparts. Following this meeting, all four men were retrieved from Bangladesh and handed over to Indian authorities in Cooch Behar.
Earlier today, Maktoob reported that one of the men, Mehbub Sheikh, was deported despite submitting proof of citizenship. In Assam, too, people were brought back after initially forcing them to cross the Bangladesh border despite their cases pending in the Supreme Court of India over a citizenship dispute.
Over the past month, Indian authorities have been pursuing a policy of pushing individuals claimed to be undocumented migrants into Bangladesh, with more than 2,000 people pushed back since the launch of “Operation Sindoor.”
