- Nine-months-pregnant Sonali Khatun, jailed in Bangladesh after alleged forced deportation from Delhi, granted bail.
- Centre agrees to repatriate her and her eight-year-old son, but contests citizenship of her husband and others.
- Calcutta High Court earlier termed the deportation “illegal”; Centre has challenged the order in Supreme Court.
- Trinamool MP Samirul Islam urges swift action, says all deported individuals are Indian citizens with documents.
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 4th Dec: Nine-months-pregnant Sonali Khatun, who walked out of Bangladesh’s Chapainawabganj jail on Monday after nearly 100 days in custody, is waiting to return to India along with her eight-year-old son. Her husband, Danish, will remain in Bangladesh for now as the Union Government has contested their citizenship and agreed to bring her back only on humanitarian grounds while the case is being heard in the Supreme Court.
The 26-year-old, her son and husband were picked up from Delhi earlier this year and allegedly forced across the border, where Bangladeshi authorities arrested them for “illegal entry.” A local court granted bail to Sonali and six others on December 1. Trinamool Congress MP Samirul Islam, who has been pursuing the case, said he is awaiting clarity from the Centre on repatriation arrangements.
Islam said the family had ample documentation to prove Indian citizenship, including land records dating back to 1952 and entries in state voter lists. “Just because someone speaks Bangla, you cannot send them to Bangladesh,” he said, calling for accountability from officials who allegedly pushed them across the border. He warned that Sonali could go into labour at any moment and urged the Centre to act without delay.
He also said another family — Sweety Bibi, her husband and two children — who were similarly deported in June, are Indian citizens and should be brought back. Islam has been in touch with Sonali through social worker Mofizul Islam, who had been assisting the families in Bangladesh. With Mofizul’s visa set to expire, he is expected to return to India soon.
Sonali’s father, Bhodu Sheikh, filed a petition in the Supreme Court after the Centre challenged a Calcutta High Court order that declared the deportation “illegal” and affirmed the citizenship of all seven individuals. The High Court had directed their return within a month, prompting the Centre to seek a stay and protection from contempt proceedings.
During Monday’s hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing West Bengal, pressed for the return of all seven deported persons. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the request, arguing they were “Bangladeshis” and that the Centre intended to contest the High Court order. However, after the Supreme Court noted that the state “must bend sometime,” the Centre agreed to initiate Sonali’s return.
The Bangladesh court that granted bail noted that the detainees were Indian citizens who were forcibly pushed across the Birbhum border. It also acknowledged that multiple Indian human rights organisations have initiated legal action in the matter.
Officials said the repatriation process for Sonali and her son is expected to begin immediately, even as the broader citizenship dispute continues before the Supreme Court.
