‘We were herded like cattle by BSF towards Bangladesh in the dark…won't go to Mumbai': Bengal residents labelled as ‘illegal immigrants'

Indian Express

17-06-2025

'We were herded like cattle. Wielding batons, the BSF jawans drove us towards the border with Bangladesh and asked us not to return. We ran towards Bangladesh. It was completely dark,' said Nazimuddin Mondal, a resident of Hariharpara in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, who was picked up by Maharashtra Police on suspicion of being illegal immigrants and pushed into Bangladesh in the wee hours of June 14.
Nazimuddin and six others — Mehbub Sheikh of Bhagabangola in Murshidabad, Minaraul Sheikh of Beldanga in Murshidabad, Shamim Khan of Hariharpara in Murshidabad, Mostafa Kamal Sheikh of Monteshwar in Purba Bardhaman and Fazer Sheikh and his wife Taslima of Bagda in North 24 Parganas – were brought back from Bangladesh after the TMC government in West Bengal intervened and asked the Central government to bring them back.
All seven hailing from West Bengal were picked up by Maharashtra Police during an anti-immigrant crackdown in Mumbai and its adjoining areas last week.
'After being detained on June 9, we were taken from one police station to another near Mumbai for three days, and we were finally handed over to the BSF in Pune. We were not allowed to have our cellphones, keys to our rooms, or any belongings. We were flown to Agartala in a BSF aircraft. There were over 130 people in the plane. From Agartala, we were taken on buses to the border. There we were divided into small groups,' said Nazimuddin Sheikh (34) after returning home to Taratipur village in Murshidabad district.
'At around 3 am, they took us to the border and gave 300 Taka, some food in a plastic packet, and a water bottle,' he added.
According to him, Bangladeshi villagers helped them to make calls to their home. 'Bangladeshi villagers informed the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) who made us sit in a field. The villagers gave us food and water. Later, they handed us over to the BSF,' added Nizamuddin, who worked as a mason in Mumbai.
'I used to make Rs 30,000 per month in Mumbai. Yet I cannot return to work. What if they hold us again and send us to Bangladesh? I have been working for the past four years in Mumbai. Before that, I worked in Kerala. But never faced such a situation,' said Nazimuddin, who lives with his father, mother, wife and a girl child, and is the only breadwinner for his family.
Speaking over the phone from his home in Beldanga, Murshidabad, Minarul Sheikh said, 'It is sad how being an Indian, the Maharashtra Police branded us illegal Bangladeshi and the BSF drove us out of our own country. Some of us were beaten by batons before we were told to move towards Bangladesh.'
'I will never return to Mumbai. I worked in Delhi and Mumbai for the last 10 years, but never faced this. I earned Rs 30,000 to 40,000 per month in the wig-making business. What will I do now? I have my parents and brothers to take care of here. The state government should do something for people like us,' he said.
Mehbub Sheikh, also a mason who worked in Mumbai, said returning to Mumbai for work is now out of the question. 'The experience we had there, we cannot return to work. I had to show a local doctor because I was beaten by the BSF since I refused to walk towards Bangladesh at 3 am. I am not in a physical condition to work now. I am happy to be alive and back at home,' the 36-year-old said.
Meanwhile, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam, who as chairman of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board played a crucial role in bringing the seven back in a post on X asked: 'I have some questions: 1. How did the Maharashtra Police hand over these migrant workers to the BSF without informing the West Bengal government? 2. Why didn't the BSF contact the local administration to verify their identities before forcibly deporting them to another country? 3. Is there a larger plan by these BJP-ruled states and the BSF to target and harass Bengali-speaking migrant workers?'
'We will not let this issue go. We will expose the dark forces behind this misdeed and ensure justice,' Islam added.
Ravik Bhattacharya is the Chief of Bureau of The Indian Express, Kolkata. Over 20 years of experience in the media industry and covered politics, crime, major incidents and issues, apart from investigative stories in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Andaman Nicobar islands. Ravik won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2007 for political reporting.
Ravik holds a bachelor degree with English Hons from Scottish Church College under Calcutta University and a PG diploma in mass communication from Jadavpur University. Ravik started his career with The Asian Age and then moved to The Statesman, The Telegraph and Hindustan Times. ... Read More