Latest news with #UkilBurman
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bengali farmer ‘abducted' by Bangladeshi miscreants repatriated to India
A farmer from West Bengal's Coochbehar district, who was allegedly captured by Bangladeshi nationals last month, was repatriated to India on Wednesday night (May 14, 2025). Ukil Burman, an elderly farmer residing in Coochbehar's Sitalkuchi area, was reportedly working on a field near the international border on April 16, when a group of Bangladeshi nationals allegedly abducted him. He was repatriated on the same day as Purnam Kumar Shaw, a constable of the Border Security Force who was in the custody of Pakistani forces since April 23 after he inadvertently crossed the international border. Celebrations ensued at Mr. Burman's home in Sitalkuchi, where a large number of his relatives and neighbours had gathered with sweets on the occasion of his return after almost a month. 'I was working in a rice field at that time. Around six Bangladeshi nationals captured me and took me to an unknown location. I tried screaming, but to no avail. They had taken hold of my limbs. I was made to sleep on the floor, but they did not assault me,' Mr. Burman told local mediapersons after returning home on Thursday. He was reportedly handed over to the neighbouring country's authorities and was in jail in Bangladesh's Lalmonirhat for nearly a month till his return. Upon his return, Mr. Burman underwent medical tests and was taken to the Sitalkuchi police station briefly before he was brought home to his family. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also addressed the issue of M.r. Burman's return on Wednesday, saying that arranging for his repatriation was the State's priority and that the governments of the two nations are in touch. In her address, Ms Banerjee also said that a few people have been identified who had allegedly 'assisted' in Mr. Burman's abduction. 'We have flagged some people, the Bibhishan-like traitors who got him abducted. I won't speak on this further. No party has the right to label someone as 'deshi' (national) or 'bideshi' (foreigner). Who got him abducted? He was captured from his own piece of land,' the Chief Minister said. It is worth noting that on April 16, a few hours before Mr. Burman was allegedly abducted, the Border Security Force in the Sitalkuchi area had fired at a group of Bangladeshi smugglers near the border. One of them had reportedly died. 'While he was in Bangladesh, Mr. Burman was verbally taunted by Bangladeshi nationals who told him he was captured as a form of revenge. While he was in a lot of mental distress, he was not tortured there. He is a Brahmin who abstains from garlic or onion; however, he was compelled to eat the food provided in the jail at Lalmonirhat,' Trinamool leader and former MP Partha Pratim Ray told The Hindu. Mr. Ray had visited Mr. Burman upon his return. He added that Mr. Burman's land was located in the no-man's-land area across the international border fence. 'Many people here have land in the immediate area beyond the fence, in the no-man's zone. Mr. Burman was captured from there,' Mr. Ray added. Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday wrote on social media that he spoke to Mr. Burman on the phone and that a delegation of local BJP legislators, including Sankar Ghosh, Baren Chandra Barman, Malati Rava Roy, Sukumar Roy, Dipak Barman and Sushil Barman, visited Mr. Barman when he was presented in court in Cooch Behar.
News18
15-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
Bangladesh Hands Over Detained Indian Farmer To BSF, BJP Thanks PM Modi
Last Updated: Local sources say Ukil Burman and his wife had crossed the barbed wire fence with permission from the BSF to irrigate their farmland but he was 'abducted by 4-5 men' Ukil Burman, a farmer who was taken into custody by Bangladeshi authorities late in April, was released and handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday night, close on the heels of Pakistan sending BSF jawan Purnam Shaw home. Burman's family in Sitalkuchi in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district had been anxiously awaiting his return for nearly a month. According to his wife, he was working in his paddy field near the India-Bangladesh border when he was abducted. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had instructed the Chief Secretary to pursue the matter through appropriate diplomatic channels. Local Member of Parliament Jagdish Basuniya confirmed that Burman had been held in a Bangladeshi jail. Speaking to News18, he said, 'From what we know, he was in jail in Bangladesh. It's good that he has now been released. We stood by his family throughout. He is our Rajbongshi brother." The incident took place in the border village of Paschim Sitalkuchi. Local sources say Burman and his wife, Sabya Bala Barman, had crossed the barbed wire fence with permission from the BSF to irrigate their farmland. Recalling the day of the incident, Sabya Bala said: 'Around 8am, we went across the fence to water the crops. Around noon, he left the irrigation pump near the fence and went further into the field, asking me to stay back. That's when I heard his cries. Four to five Bangladeshi men abducted him." Reacting to his release, BJP leader Amit Malviya thanked 'the Prime Minister and the Home Minister for their outstanding leadership". 'However, you may not have heard the opposition raising its voice for the release of Ukil Barman. That's because the Nehruvian ecosystem has long erased East Pakistan—now Bangladesh—from national discourse, conveniently overlooking the suffering of millions of Bengali Hindu refugees. But that narrative must change. It is time to refocus on West Bengal and reclaim the state's rich cultural heritage. The first step begins with ensuring Mamata Banerjee's ouster in 2026." First Published: May 15, 2025, 11:04 IST
