78 individuals report ‘inhumane treatment’ after BSF pushback into Satkhira
NN Online:
78 Bengali-speaking people who were forced across the India–Bangladesh border by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) and abandoned on a shoal in Satkhira say they endured “inhumane treatment” before being released near the western edge of the Sundarbans.
The group, many of whom had journeyed to Gujarat from Bangladesh at various times seeking work, report that they were detained by local police on April 26. They allege they were beaten and subjected to cruel mistreatment during their four-day captivity.
On May 9, after being blindfolded and transported—first flown to Kolkata and then taken by ship—they were deposited on the isolated Mandarbaria shoal in the Bay of Bengal. The Forest Department later discovered them, and the Coast Guard escorted them to Mongla Camp before handing them over to Shyamnagar Police Station late that night, in the presence of Upazila Nirbahi Officer Roni Khatun.
Shyamnagar Police chief Humayun Kabir Mol confirmed that all 78 were in poor health when rescued. The local administration provided first aid, food, and water immediately upon their arrival. Of the group, three men claimed Indian citizenship—asserting they were born in India to Indian parents—while the remaining 75 identified themselves as Bangladeshis hailing from Narail, Khulna, Dhaka, and Satkhira districts.
The three who say they are Indian-born face charges under the Passport Act, and are being held at Shyamnagar Police Station. The other 75 are currently accommodated at the Upazila Muktijoddha Complex pending verification of their identities.
This incident comes in the wake of an April 27 operation by Gujarat police, in which over 1,000 Bangladeshis—including women and children—were arrested in Ahmedabad and Surat. State Police Chief Vikas Sahay reported that 890 were detained in Ahmedabad and 134 in Surat during the crackdown led by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
Three survivors—76-year-old Rauf Sheikh of Narail, 45-year-old Shawkat Sheikh of Babupur, and 56-year-old Mohammad Imran of Daulatpur—recounted being evicted from their Surat slum on April 26, handcuffed, blindfolded, and held in a police camp until May 1. They described receiving scant food, suffering periodic beatings, and enduring constant verbal abuse.
Assistant Conservator of Forests Mashiur Rahman explained that preliminary inquiries indicate the entire group was detained across various Indian states, then transported by ship and speedboat before being released onto the shoal. After reaching the Mandarbaria patrol post, they sought assistance from the Forest Department.
UNO Roni Khatun said the Upazila administration has been working to confirm each individual’s name and address, and has supplied them with essential provisions—including rice, pulses, and drinking water—to ensure their well-being. Additional Superintendent of Police Mithun Sarkar emphasized that, regardless of the nationalities claimed, every individual’s information will be thoroughly verified.