The BSF on Wednesday told Calcutta High Court that Amir Sheikh, a 20-year-old migrant worker from Malda’s Kaliachak, had "inadvertently" crossed the international border and entered Bangladesh.

However, since last month, Amir's relatives have alleged that the BSF pushed Amir into Bangladesh after cops in Rajasthan accused the youth, a migrant worker, of being a Bangladeshi infiltrator. A video of Amir, crying that he had been deported to Bangladesh, had surfaced on social media last month.

“The BSF said in its report that the person (Amir) had inadvertently crossed the international border and reached Bangladesh. He was apprehended by the BSF when he tried to re-enter the country (India) and was handed over to the local police,” said Ashok Chakraborty, advocate appearing for the Union government.

The BSF had informed the high court that Amir was apprehended on Tuesday when he attempted to “cross over into Indian territory from Bangladesh”.

During the hearing of the habeas corpus petition before the division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra, lawyers appearing for the Centre presented the BSF’s report.

The BSF’s claim in court sparked anger among Amir’s family, who accused the force, which functions under the Union home ministry, of lying to cover up the "forcible deportation".

“We all know what happened to my nephew. He was deported to Bangladesh after being detained by the Rajasthan police. The BSF had called us and asked us to take Amir back quietly, without informing anyone. They are just trying to suppress actual facts about his deportation,” said Ajmaul Sheikh, Amir’s uncle.

Amir, originally from Jalalpur village under Kaliachak police station limits in Malda district, was apprehended by the Rajasthan police and reportedly kept in judicial custody for three months. On July 22, he was reportedly forced to walk into Bangladesh by the BSF.

His family members back in Jalalpur had no idea about his fate until the video that showed him crying and narrating his ordeal surfaced on social media. To prove that Amir was an Indian citizen, his family produced a family land deed dating back to 1941, bearing the then-British seal.

Trinamool hit out at both the BSF and the BJP, claiming it would legally prove that Amir was deported and that the claim of his “inadvertent” crossing into Bangladesh was a complete lie.

"After persecuting a poor man, now that they’ve been exposed, the BJP is resorting to lies. But of course, that’s their policy. Let it be known — we have all the evidence that shows Amir was deported. We have been and will stay by his side legally. We even have the video Amir recorded from Bangladesh. We will legally prove that Amir was deported by the BSF and he did not go there voluntarily," Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam, who also chairs the state's migrant welfare board, wrote on X.