On the orders of the Supreme Court, after 103 days, pregnant Sunali Khatoon and her son returned to India from Bangladesh jail. Wrongful deportation, legal battle and return on humanitarian grounds. The big question still remains as to when the remaining 4 people will return.
New Delhi. Sunali Khatoon, a 26-year-old Indian woman, and her eight-year-old son Sabir were finally brought back to India. Following the order of the Supreme Court, on Friday evening both of them breathed their last breath of freedom from Bangladesh jail after about 103 days. But the question is still big that how did a pregnant Indian woman and her child end up in the jail of another country? What mistake happened and due to whose fault did they get this painful punishment? This story is as painful as it is mysterious and full of questions.
Was an Indian woman mistakenly declared a Bangladeshi and sent to jail?
The story starts from Delhi, where on June 18, Delhi Police had detained Sunali from Bengali colony of Rohini Sector 26. She lived here for more than 20 years and ran her household by collecting garbage. Police declared Sunali, her husband Danesh and younger son as suspected Bangladeshis. After this FRRO sent everyone to Bangladesh. But the big question is that if Sunali was really an Indian, then why was she sent to another country without investigation? Why was a woman living in India for 20 years suddenly called an ‘infiltrator’?
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103 days imprisonment in Bangladesh: Under what conditions were they kept?
When the family was sent across the border, Bangladesh authorities also got confused. Sunali and others were locked up in Chapai Nawabganj Correctional Home as “infiltrators” on 20 August. She remained confined there for about two and a half months. On 1 December, he was granted bail on a bond of 5,000 taka. But even after release, the path of return was not easy.
Why did the Supreme Court get angry? Which records showed the truth?
When the case reached the Supreme Court, several documents came out in Sunali’s favor:
- land record of 1952
- Voter list of 2002 – in which Sunali’s parents were registered as Indian voters.
- Aadhar Card and PAN Card.
- Birth certificates of children.
The biggest shock came when the court said that the police claim that Sunali had come to India illegally in 1998 was wrong… because she was not even born then. The court slammed the Center and said, “If someone says he was born and brought up in India, his claim should be investigated. Deporting someone without due process is wrong.”
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Return to India ‘on humanitarian grounds’: The journey of relief finally begins
On December 3, the central government told the Supreme Court that it would bring Sunali and her son back to India on humanitarian grounds. On Friday evening, both were handed over to Indian authorities at the Bangladesh border. After border formalities, they were taken to Malda Medical College as Sunali is in the advanced stage of pregnancy. After medical clearance, she will return to her village Paikar in Birbhum. But when will the remaining 4 people return? There are still many mysteries remaining. There are still doubts about the return of the other four people deported along with Sunali, her husband, Sweety Bibi, Qurban Shaikh and Imam Diwan. The Supreme Court has also ordered their return, but the date has not been decided.
Was this deportation wrong? who is responsible?
TMC MP Sameerul Islam also alleged that the Center delayed the matter and people had to go to the Supreme Court. The whole matter is layered – full of human pain, highlighting the flaws in the system and leaving many questions. The return of Sunali and her child is definitely a relief, but the future of the rest is still uncertain.