A 20-year-old migrant worker from Malda is languishing in Bangladesh for almost a fortnight now, pushed there by the Border Security Force (BSF) on suspicion of him being a Bangladeshi national, even as his family has produced a pre-colonial land deed to prove his Indian citizenship.

The family members of Amir Sheikh, who live in Jalalpur village of Malda, have furnished a deed of the family land made back in 1941.

Amir, who used to work in Rajasthan, was reportedly arrested by the police in that state and imprisoned for two months.

Last week, a video that went viral on social media showed a tearful Amir claiming he had been deported to Bangladesh by the Rajasthan police with the help of the BSF. He pleaded for necessary intervention so that he could return home, but did not mention where exactly he was in the neighbouring country.

Jiem Sheikh, Amir’s father, claimed his son had valid photo identity cards, which he had shown the Rajasthan police, but they ignored the documents.

“After Amir was arrested, we even sent a copy of our ancestral land deed of 1941 to prove that we are Indians. Even this proof was not considered, and my son was deported to Bangladesh,” said the worried father.

His deportation has left neighbours anguished. “Amir is a simple boy, and only because he speaks in Bengali, he was forcibly ousted from India. We want him back immediately,” said Rubel Sheikh, a neighbour.

Officials of the district administration said they were in touch with central ministries to bring him back.

“Soon after we came to know about the issue, the BDO of Kaliachak-I met his family. He is a bona fide resident of Jalalpur. We, through the state government, have initiated a process to bring the youth back,” said Nitin Singhania, the district magistrate.

The Malda district police, too, are in communication with the BSF also to expedite the process of bringing Amir back, sources said.

Isha Khan Choudhury, the Congress MP of Malda Dakshin, was critical of the Centre and the Rajasthan police.

“Even a land deed issued ahead of India’s Independence is not enough to prove one’s citizenship. This proves that as Amir speaks Bengali and is from the minority community, he was branded as a Bangladeshi. This can’t go on,” said Isha.

The MP, who had staged a protest in front of the Parliament on Amir’s issue on Wednesday for Amir’s release, said he met BSF director-general Daljit Singh Choudhary on Thursday and sought his intervention.

“The DG said they knew Amir’s location in Bangladesh and that initiatives were being taken to bring him back to India. I was told that the BSF held three flag meetings with the Border Guard Bangladesh to bring Amir back,” said Isha.