West Bengal detains Muslims as Bangladeshis

At least nine Muslim men and two children have been detained in West Bengal since June on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals, with families alleging midnight raids, lack of legal documents and attempts to push some detainees across the border.

Most are from Murshidabad, which borders Bangladesh, according to an investigation by Scroll. The detentions come amid heightened scrutiny of Bengali-speaking Muslims over alleged illegal migration from Bangladesh.

Families said police took the detainees from their homes without showing arrest warrants, remand orders or first information reports (FIRs). In some cases, police allegedly filed suo motu FIRs weeks after detention.

At least one detainee was handed to the Border Security Force (BSF) for deportation but was returned to police custody after insisting that he was an Indian citizen.

“The scariest thing is that police are randomly picking up people and sending them to detention centres without producing them before the court, which is both illegal and anti-constitutional,” said Jakir Hussain, a Murshidabad-based human rights activist with the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights.

At least four detainees had passed scrutiny during the Election Commission’s recent special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, according to Scroll.

Detained despite Indian documents
Ibrahim Sheikh, 61, from Ramakantapur village, was taken from his home around 12.30am on 29 July, his daughter-in-law Parbin Khatun said.

She said seven or eight men in civilian clothes asked for his identity documents. After Sheikh showed his Aadhaar and voter cards, they allegedly asked: “Are you Indian or Bangladeshi?”

The family later submitted his pension papers, land documents and voter card to Suti police station but was not allowed to meet him. Police subsequently said he had been sent to a detention centre.

His family has approached the Calcutta High Court. On 25 August, his 81-year-old mother, Hanifa Bewa, filed a habeas corpus petition seeking his whereabouts and production before the court.

Sheikh’s lawyer Md Nur Hossain Zamadar said the family had received neither an arrest memo nor an FIR. He cited a 1946 land deed showing the family’s presence in India before Independence.

Police rejected the allegations, saying Sheikh was detained under a government executive order and therefore did not require an FIR. Jangipur Superintendent of Police Surinder Singh said the action followed government guidelines and that the family knew Sheikh was Bangladeshi.

Deportation attempt
Jalil Akhtar, 67, was picked up from Uttar Dinajpur’s Bahrai village around midnight on 19 June.

His family pointed to his inclusion in electoral rolls after the 2002 and 2026 SIRs and land records in his great-grandfather’s name. Relatives said police told them: “You cannot argue with us now.

The government has changed.”
A police report said officers attempted to deport Akhtar before filing an FIR a month after his detention. He was handed to the BSF on 4 July but returned to police custody after insisting he was Indian.

Police later filed a suo motu case under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, alleging that he had entered India without valid travel documents.

His family produced 1967 land records bearing his father’s name, while police said he could not prove the man’s identity as his father. Officers also cited Akhtar’s inability to speak Bengali, although his family speaks Surjapuri, a language spoken by more than 300,000 people in Islampur.

His cousin Matiur Rahman alleged that police were targeting Muslims and claimed an officer told him: “We have just started. We have 500 names on our list.”

Children also detained
In another case, police raided a home in Murshidabad’s Nurpurdiyar village and detained Abdul Jabbar, 35, and his sons Ahad, 8, and Jiad, 6. His 11-month-old son remained with his mother.

Jabbar’s adoptive father said he had raised him after adopting him from his maternal grandparents 26 years ago. Police later showed the family a 2022 Bangladeshi birth certificate, which he called fake.
Jabbar has an Indian passport, a panchayat-issued birth certificate and a voter card.

He was also included in the latest electoral roll and voted in the last Assembly elections.
His wife, Jumman Bibi, 26, was hospitalised after suffering seizures and losing consciousness following his detention. She said police told her Jabbar and the children had been pushed into Bangladesh. She last spoke to him on 28 August while he was at the Ahiran detention centre.

FIRs filed weeks later
Sahin Sheikh, 28, was detained from Budher Kismat village on 14 June on suspicion of being Bangladeshi. His wife said police rejected his 2003 land deed and state-issued ration card.

He was excluded from this year’s electoral roll following the SIR but has appealed before an Election Commission appellate tribunal. His wife also alleged that police attempted to push him into Bangladesh.
A suo motu FIR was filed 20 days later, on 6 July, according to his lawyer Mohammed Abu Raihain.

The case cited a photocopy of a Bangladeshi birth certificate allegedly found in Sahin’s bag. Raihain said the document had not been authenticated.

Another detainee, Jibon Sheikh, was picked up on 26 June despite possessing voter and school certificates and having voted in the recent Assembly elections. His wife, Farida Bibi, 27, said she had exhausted her savings supporting their three children.

Advocate Selim Sheikh said the family had still not received an FIR copy or other detention order more than two months after the detention and planned to challenge it in the Calcutta High Court.

The cases have raised questions over the treatment of people accused of being Bangladeshi nationals, particularly where they produce Indian identity, electoral, land or other official records.

Rights activists say citizenship allegations should be established through investigation and due process before detention or deportation.