Release my sons, says dad of Matua bros held in Maha jail
2
Kolkata: Two brothers belonging to the Matua community from Nadia are reportedly languishing in a Maharashtra prison for the last six months despite prod- ucing multiple Indian IDs and even identity cards issued by the All India Matua Mahasangha (AIMM), bearing the signature of junior Union minister and Bongaon BJP MP
Shantanu Thakur
.
On Friday, the grieving parents of Manishankar Biswas and his younger sibling Nayan sought their immediate release, accusing Maharashtra Police of wrongfully detaining them on suspicion of being Bangladeshi immigrants. The accusations also triggered political outrage, coming just days after the arrest of six members from the community (including three children) in Pune on similar charges.
Speaking from his home in Ranaghat's Rainagar, Nishikanta Biswas, a devout Matua follower, said the family was running from pillar to post to secure the release of his sons.
He claimed that Manishankar and Nayan — both in their early 30s — furnished Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards and even AIMM identity cards as proof of Indian citizenship. However, Maharashtra Police allegedly dismissed these documents as "inadequate".
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"We are closely associated with the Thakurbari in Thakurnagar. We travel around singing devotional songs at all Matua religious events. My sons went to Pune for work, and we depend on their income to survive.
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Since their arrest, my paralysed wife has not been able to get medical treatment," Nishikanta said, breaking down in tears. His wife reportedly suffered a brain stroke after hearing of her sons' detention, he said.
"We voted for BJP, we trusted them," said Nishikanta, "but now we feel abandoned".
The family said they reached out to several netas for help. "The police are treating them as illegal Rohingya immigrants despite having Indian documents.
This is nothing short of harassment," said Sashikanta, Nishikanta's brother.
Trinamool's Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur and MP Samirul Islam condemned the arrests, alleging members of the Matua community were facing systematic targeting in BJP-governed states like Maharashtra.
"They are Indian citizens. They hold Aadhaar, voter cards and Matua Mahasangha IDs signed by Shantanu Thakur himself. Yet, they have been labelled as Bangladeshis.
This is shameful," said Islam. "Matuas are being harassed in BJP-governed Maharashtra. It reflects the govt's deep-seated apathy and bias towards Bengali-speaking Hindus," Mamata Bala said.
While Shantanu did not respond to calls, his brother Subrata Thakur, the BJP MLA from Gaighata, said the matter was resolved. "This is part of a legal process. When someone is suspected of being an infiltrator, the authorities concerned are bound to verify their documents.
Once that is complete, they are released. TMC is unnecessarily politicising the issue," he said.
Subrata said that large numbers of illegal immigrants, including Rohingya and Bangladeshis, had entered India, and police were conducting legal crackdowns in many states.
Citizenship has been a restive issue among Matuas, prompting AIMM to issue the ID cards.
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