2 days ago
‘Never thought we would see his face again': 19-year-old Bengal migrant returns weeks after sent to Bangladesh
A 19-year-old Bengali migrant who was detained by Rajasthan police on June 19 and later deported to Bangladesh has finally returned home, his family and local leaders said on Tuesday. The case came to light after a video of Amir Sheikh, filmed in Bangladesh, circulated on social media.
Amir, a resident of Jalalpur village under Kaliachowk police station in Malda, had gone to Rajasthan to work as a construction labourer. However, his family lost contact with him after his detention. Amir lost his mother five years ago and his father works as a migrant labourer in Uttar Pradesh.
Ajmal said the family first saw the video last month and learned that Amir had been pushed into Bangladesh. ' We got a call last evening from someone in Basirhat. I did not know who he was. We then spoke with Amir on video call. I identified him. He said he was in a Bangladesh jail. Then we were told that he would be brought back. This morning we received another call stating that he is with the BSF. We are waiting for further instructions,' Ajmal said.
In a video message on social media, Isha Khan Choudhury, Congress MP from Malda Dakshin Lok Sabha constituency, said central agencies and the Border Security Forces (BSF) had traced Amir. 'We are happy to share with the people of the constituency and press colleagues that a wrongly expelled Indian citizen was traced in Bangladesh by the central government and BSF,' she said. After being detained in the labour camp in Rajasthan, Mr Amir Sheikh is being released today. BSF ADG of West Bengal told me that Amir Sheikh is now in BSF control. They will inform the family today about the development.'
'Earlier I had spoken to the home secretary and BSF DG over the issue. I hope such an incident never takes place in the country. Indian citizens and travel throughout the country. It is a fundamental right. It is sad that the person was arrested and deported. But today is a happy day that he has been brought back to India,' added Choudhury in his message.
Samirul Islam, TMC Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of the West Bengal Migrant Labour Welfare Board, said the family had been supported from the start. 'Amir Sk, a migrant worker from Malda's Kaliachak, was deported to Bangladesh by the Rajasthan police. Since his deportation, we have been with the family from day one, extending all kinds of support to them. We also helped his father move the Calcutta High Court with a habeas corpus petition. Following the petition, top Rajasthan government officials and those from the Centre were summoned by the hon'ble court. The case was scheduled to be heard tomorrow,' he said.
'As interestingly there was no way to repatriate Amir except through legal intervention, as he had been tagged under a case involving illegal entry into Bangladesh. Amid such a situation, the central government is now trying to repatriate Amir Sheikh to his Malda home to save face and avoid the legal blow for the illegal pushback,' Islam added.
' One has to do something so that this trend of pushing out our Bengal residents to Bangladesh stops. There should be proper rehabilitation for such victims,' said Asif Faruk, state general secretary of the Parijayi Sramik Aikya Manch (Migrant Workers' Unity Forum).
In the video last month, accessed by The Indian Express, Amir Sheikh is seen speaking to residents in Bangladesh. He identifies himself, shares his West Bengal address, and alleges that after being detained for two months, he was recently sent across the border into Bangladesh.
The incident comes in the wake of similar cases across several states, including Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. On June 14, seven residents of West Bengal were detained in Mumbai and later pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF. After intervention by the West Bengal government, four youths from Murshidabad, one from Purba Bardhaman and a husband-wife duo from North 24 Parganas were brought back.
