A fact-finding team comprising an academic, a journalist, a social activist and a human-rights activist has alleged that a 60-year-old man and his three sons were unlawfully detained and pushed back to Bangladesh from Suti in Murshidabad district without any legally sustainable determination of their nationality, and has demanded their safe return along with an independent, time-bound investigation into the actions of the police officials involved.
In a formal representation to the Secretary, Home Department, Government of West Bengal, dated 24 September 2026, Kirity Roy, Secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) and National Convenor of the Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), stated that Dablu Saikh, aged about 60 years, a resident of Village Baliaghati under Umrapur Panchayat, Police Station Suti, District Murshidabad, was forcibly taken away from his residence by police personnel along with his three sons — Kayem Sk., aged about 29 years, Rajaul Sk., aged about 20 years, and Asmaul Sk., aged about 16 years. The incident reportedly occurred on the night of 13/14 August 2026, although the exact date could not be recalled by Saikh's wife, Jahanara Bibi, who, however, clearly remembers the sequence of events.
According to her account, at approximately 10:00 a.m., five to six police personnel in plain clothes came to their house and took Dablu Saikh away. When family members subsequently rushed to the nearest police camp to enquire about him, they found that his three sons had also been detained, and the family was allegedly told that the detained persons were "Bangladeshis" and not Indians.
The fact-finding team, which visited the Suti-I and Suti-II Block areas in mid-September 2026, found material circumstances raising serious questions regarding the official claim. Significantly, Dablu Saikh's name was not deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the electoral roll, and he reportedly exercised his right to vote in the current year; his son, Kayem Sk., also exercised his franchise. Saikh is also stated to possess an Aadhaar Card, Ration Card and other identity and residence-related documents, and more importantly, the team found that his father, Sk. Samjani, was himself recorded as a voter, including in the 1966 electoral and enumeration records.
"When specifically questioned as to the basis on which Dablu Saikh had been identified as a Bangladeshi national, the Inspector-in-Charge of Suti Police Station, Avijit Basu Mallick, reportedly stated categorically that he was 'confirmed' that Dablu Saikh was a Bangladeshi, and further stated that Dablu Saikh and two of his sons had been handed over to the BSF and, pursuant to an order of the FRRO, had allegedly been pushed back and deported to Bangladesh," Roy stated in the representation, adding that this assertion gives rise to grave questions of law and procedure.
Roy demanded to know on what legal and evidentiary basis Dablu Saikh was declared a Bangladeshi national, who conducted the verification, what documents were examined, whether any inquiry was conducted in his native village, and whether his electoral records, family records, birth and residence records, other government documents and the 1966 electoral record concerning his father were considered. "A mere police assertion that a person is 'Bangladeshi' cannot, by itself, answer these questions," he said.
He further asked what the legal basis was for detaining his sons, stating that if the authorities had concluded that Dablu Saikh was a foreign national, it must be explained on what independent basis his sons, including 16-year-old Asmaul Sk., were treated as foreigners, and whether the nationality of each individual was separately verified or whether the sons were simply treated as foreigners because they belonged to the same family.
He also questioned why other members of the family, including other sons and daughters who continue to reside in India and have not been apprehended as alleged foreigners, were not treated in the same manner, stating that if the police claim the family has a foreign origin, the authorities must explain the basis on which some members of the same family were identified as foreigners while others continue to be treated as Indian citizens.
Referring to the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which came into force on 1 September 2025 and contains provisions concerning detection, regulation and removal of foreigners, Roy stated that the existence of statutory powers concerning foreigners does not answer the crucial preliminary question in this case — how it was established that Dablu Saikh and his sons were foreigners in the first place — and that this question requires a transparent record of verification, the authority making the determination, the materials relied upon, and the opportunity available to the affected persons to challenge an adverse determination.
He further demanded that if the three persons were handed over to the BSF and thereafter sent across the international border, the authorities must disclose the written order authorising such action, the identity and designation of the officer who passed the order, the verification report on the basis of which the order was made, the FRRO proceedings, the date and place of handing over to the BSF, the records of the alleged push-back and deportation, and the identity and nationality confirmation obtained from the Bangladeshi authorities, if any.
Describing the alleged detention and subsequent treatment of Asmaul Sk., aged approximately 16 years, as an additional and particularly serious concern, Roy stated that a minor cannot simply be treated as an adult foreign national on the basis of a generalized police allegation concerning his family, and that his age, identity, family circumstances and legal status require separate consideration and appropriate procedural safeguards, particularly in light of India's ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which guarantees the child's rights to survival, benefit, best interests, life, protection, development and participation.
"The central issue is not whether the Government possesses lawful powers to deal with foreign nationals. It plainly does. The central issue is whether those powers were lawfully exercised against persons who may in fact be Indian citizens. The Government cannot substitute an administrative label — 'Bangladeshi' — for a legally sustainable determination of nationality," Roy stated, adding that the fact that a person is poor, Bengali-speaking, Muslim, a migrant worker, or a resident of a border district cannot constitute proof of foreign nationality, and that any such approach would be incompatible with the requirement of individualised verification and constitutional safeguards.
Roy demanded immediate steps for the safe return of Dablu Saikh, Kayem Sk., Rajaul Sk. and Asmaul Sk. to India if they have indeed been taken across the international border without a lawful and independently verifiable determination of foreign nationality; an independent, time-bound investigation into the arrest, detention, transfer and alleged push-back and deportation of the four persons; disclosure of the complete records relating to their alleged identification as Bangladeshi nationals, including police verification reports, FRRO proceedings and orders, BSF hand-over records and any communication with Bangladeshi authorities; an independent inquiry into the role of the Inspector-in-Charge, Suti Police Station, the Superintendent of Police, Jangipur Police District, and any Intelligence Bureau and immigration officials involved in the verification, detention, transfer or alleged deportation of these persons; appropriate criminal and departmental proceedings against any public official found to have knowingly prepared, relied upon or communicated false information resulting in the unlawful detention or removal of an Indian citizen; and verification of the electoral and civil records of Dablu Saikh and his family, including the relevant historical electoral records concerning his father, Sk. Samjani, and the current electoral records in which Dablu Saikh is an acknowledged voter and citizen by the Election Commission of India.
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