Murshidabad migrant worker Mehebub Sheikh is not a standalone case of someone allegedly "pushed back" to Bangladesh by the BSF.
The Bengal government discovered at least four more residents from the state who were deported over the past three days to the neighbouring country on suspicion of being Bangladeshis.
Three of them — not Mehebub — were brought back to Indian soil on Sunday evening.
After Mehebub's case became public on Saturday, the West Bengal Migrant Workers' Welfare Board became aware of four more such persons from Murshidabad and East Burdwan’s Manteswar.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee directed senior government and police officers to ensure their repatriation at the soonest, a senior bureaucrat said.
He added that due to "tremendous pressure" on the BSF, the central force located all five and repatriated three migrant workers on Sunday evening. They were handed over to Mekhliganj police station in Cooch Behar.
“Three Indian nationals were repatriated from Bangladesh following sustained coordination and dialogue with the BSF and the BGB,” said Sandeep Gorai, the additional superintendent of police (Mathabhanga), Cooch Behar.
Minarul Sheikh and Nizamuddin Sheikh from Murshidabad, and Mostafa Kamal Sheikh from East Burdwan’s Manteswar were among the five Indian citizens who were repatriated on Sunday following a flag meeting between the BSF and the BGB.
“Following the intervention of our chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the Bengal administration and police mounted pressure on the BSF, and three of the five have now been brought back to our country. We will certainly take up the issue as deportation of these workers was completely illegal. They (the BSF) didn’t even verify their nationality,” said TMC Rajya Sabha member Samirul Islam, who heads the West Bengal Migrant Workers' Welfare Board.
Islam added that after the Pahalgam terror attack, police in BJP-ruled states had been targeting Bengali-speaking migrant workers, suspecting them of being Bangladeshis.
“The torture was bad enough within our country. Now, it’s shocking the BSF has been deporting poor Indian citizens to Bangladesh. We hope the remaining two migrant workers will also be back home soon,” he said.
A video showing the plight of the trio was widely circulated on social media since Saturday night.
Minarul Sheikh, a migrant worker from Murshidabad, claimed in the video that despite showing Indian identity documents like his voter ID and Aadhaar card, the BSF beat him and pushed him into Bangladeshi territory on Friday.
“I repeatedly told the BSF that my home is in Murshidabad and they could verify it from my ancestral village. But they didn’t listen and forcibly deported me to Bangladesh,” said Minarul.
A source said the Bengal government was likely flag the "highhandedness" of the BSF and state police in Maharashtra and Delhi with appropriate authorities.
“We are also upset with the role of the Maharashtra police. They should have confirmed their citizenship status with the Bengal government. Instead, they handed over these poor migrant workers directly to the BSF,” said a senior TMC leader.
Additional reporting by Main Uddin Chisti in Cooch Behar