The families of three elderly residents of Odisha’s Kendrapara district say they were only officially informed on January 30 that their relatives had been deported to Bangladesh — more than two months after they were picked up by police on suspicion of being “illegal infiltrators”.
The deportation, unannounced until this week, has triggered anguish, outrage and fresh allegations that even long-time Indian residents — particularly Bengali-speaking Muslims — are being wrongly targeted by the BJP government’s ongoing drive to identify and expel undocumented Bangladeshi nationals from the state.
Insan Khan, 61, his brother Muntaj Khan, 75, and their sister Amina Bibi, 70, were taken into custody from Garapur village in Kendrapara on November 27, 2025. All three, their family says, had been living in Odisha since the 1950s.
“They were picked up one afternoon. After a few days, my children and I were released, but my husband and the others weren’t. We’ve met police officers five or six times since then, but they’ve not told us anything. For two months, there has been no peace in our house,” said Insan’s wife Ruby Bibi, 56.
Her worst fears came true when she saw newspaper reports stating that the trio had been deported. “We still have no official documents. They just said on January 30 that they were deported. Where are they now? Are they even alive?”
The family has demanded proof — a deportation video, confirmation of their location, or contact details — but says nothing has been provided so far.
Jayed Alisaa, Insan’s son-in-law, said: “Do they deserve to be treated like this at this age? Even if they’ve been deported, don’t we have a right to know where they’ve been taken?”
Insan’s nephew, Muktar Khan, 48, son of Muntaj, said the family has lived in Kendrapara for nearly 65 years. “We were always told we came from Basantia and Kanthi in undivided Bengal. Perhaps our grandfather arrived in the ’60s during the turmoil in East Pakistan. But my father was born here, worked here, and has never set foot in Bangladesh.”
“He suffers from asthma, kidney problems and dementia. We’re terrified he won’t survive this. My father was a daily wage labourer. We are Indian citizens. We vote, we have Aadhaar. But because we are Muslim and speak Bengali, our identity is being questioned.”
Muktar added: “We’ve been made scapegoats for political gains. They are treating us like infiltrators when this land is our home.”
The family claims there were no prior deportation orders shown, no legal process they were informed about and no hearings. “They vanished after being picked up. We’re only being told now that they were deported,” said Muktar.
Former sarpanch of Baulakani Panchayat, Udaya Kumar Rout, said he had previously intervened in similar cases and secured release from police custody. “I fail to understand why the same documents were not accepted this time. All three are elderly and ailing. As far as I know, they were handed over to the BSF, but it’s unclear whether they were kept at a Bengal camp or sent across the border. If they’ve been deported, I will approach the Supreme Court and seek their return.”
Local Muslim leader Lalbabu echoed the sentiment: “We want justice for the three elderly people who’ve been disappeared in the name of deportation.”
The incident has further intensified scrutiny of the state government’s anti-infiltration campaign. The identification and deportation drive, which began six months ago under the BJP-led government, has triggered allegations of wrongful targeting of Indian citizens, especially Muslims of Bengali descent.
Civil rights activists and local groups have raised concerns that the process is opaque, discriminatory, and often bypasses due legal process. Some Bengali-speaking daily wage labourers from neighbouring Bengal have also reportedly been harassed.
The Kendrapara police, when contacted this week, confirmed that the family members of Insan, Muntaj and Amina had been “intimated” on January 30 about their deportation.
No further official communication or confirmation of their current whereabouts has been shared.