Released from Bangladesh after almost a month, farmer Ukil Barman of Paschim Sitalkuchi, Cooch Behar, now has only one wish.
He wants the state or the Centre to buy his agricultural land beyond the barbed wire fence at the India-Bangladesh border so that he can buy another plot within the fence to continue farming.
On April 16, Ukil was working on his four-bigha farm beyond the fence, that is, between the zero line and the fence of the India-Bangladesh border.
Ukil, who stayed in a correctional home in Bangladesh for almost one month before his release on Wednesday, now dreads crossing the fence to farm his own land. “I never thought I would be arrested by Bangladeshi authorities for working in my field within Indian territory. I do not feel secure anymore about crossing the fence and walking to my plot. I apprehend I might face similar consequences again,” Ukil, who is in his mid-fifties, said at his home in the village.
Unfortunately for Ukil, on April 16, a gang of alleged smugglers was trying to smuggle some contraband into Bangladesh, which the on-duty BSF troopers noticed. The alleged smugglers got aggressive, prompting the BSF to open fire, killing a Bangladeshi “smuggler”, Hasinur Mian. Angered, a group of Bangladeshis intercepted Ukil, who was watering his paddy fields.
“A group of Bangladeshis intercepted me and forcibly took me away to their area. They told me that they caught me as the BSF intercepted a Bangladeshi national. Once the BSF releases the man, I would be released too, they said,” Ukil said.
But when the Bangladeshi group learnt of Hasinur’s death, they got agitated. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel took Ukil into their custody, telling him it was for his safety, he recounted.
“The BGB personnel told me that they took me into custody for my safety as people are agitated. But the next day, I was handed over to the Hatibandha police station (in Lalmonirhat district). The police produced me in a court and I was sent to jail,” said the farmer.
The BSF took up the issue with the BGB so that Ukil could be released. On Wednesday, he got bail at a court in Bangladesh and was handed over to the BGB. The BGB, in turn, handed him to BSF. The BSF, along with the Cooch Behar district police, took him to a health centre for a check-up. Around midnight, they dropped him home.
Ukil said his earnings from agriculture were insufficient to run his family, which is why, his sons Mahadeb and Paritosh work in Kerala.
When Ukil was held in Bangladesh, Paritosh returned and pursued his father’s release with the BSF and the administration. Elder son Mahadeb, however, had to stay back in Kerala to earn for the family.
On his experiences in Lalmonirhat jail, Ukil said there were around 500 people, including some leaders and workers of the Awami League. “Many of them assured me that I would be released soon,” Ukil said.
Paritosh, the younger son, echoed his father. “The BSF troopers stay inside the fences. How can we work securely in our field after this incident? We want the state or the Centre to buy our land. We have to get farmland in or around our village so that we don’t need to cross the fences,” he said.
As with the release of BSF jawan Purnam Shaw from Pakistan, a battle for credit erupted between the TMC and the BJP after Ukil’s release.
On Thursday, Trinamool and BJP leaders reached Ukil’s house to congratulate him on his release. A section of TMC leaders demonstrated against the BJP delegation and alleged that the saffron camp did nothing for Ukil’s release.
“We were with the family during their crisis. The BJP leaders were nowhere then, but now they are here with an eye for political mileage,” said TMC leader Prashanta Sutradhar.
Shankar Ghosh, the BJP MLA of Siliguri and the party’s chief whip in the Assembly, countered the TMC’s claims. “It is because of the efforts of the Centre and the BSF that Ukil Barman is home. Trinamool has only resorted to dirty politics,” he said.