Sunali Khantun, the Bengali woman who was picked up by Delhi police and later deported to Bangladesh in June this year, under suspicion of being illegal immigrants - was released from a Bangladeshi jail on Monday along with her husband and son. This came after spending nearly three months of her advanced pregnancy behind bars in a Bangladeshi jail. She was pregnant when pushed into Bangladesh stoking fears for the unborn child, the nationality debate that would follow if the child delivery happened on a foreign soil. “I want to go back home, I want to go back to my land” , said Sunali as she walked out of the jail on bail, holding her son by her side.
The saga began on June 17, when Khantun, her husband Danish Sk, their son Shabir, and two others were picked up by Delhi Police on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. The crackdown unfolded just days after the April 22nd Pahalgam terror attack, which triggered a nationwide push to identify and detain undocumented immigrants. Khantun’s family, residents of Bengal’s Birbhum district for years, suddenly found themselves caught in an aggressive verification drive in Delhi aimed at “flushing out illegal entrants”. They were sling out their lives as rag pickers when Delhi police picked them up.
In a move that would later be sharply questioned in court, the group was flown to Assam on June 26. From there, they were allegedly pushed across the international border into Bangladesh - an action their families termed a “forced deportation” and one that raised concerns among rights groups about due process violations. Once in Bangladesh, the family struggled to establish their identity. Their situation worsened on August 21, when the Bangladesh police in Chapai Nawabganj arrested Khantun, her husband, and their son for “illegally entering the country”. They were remanded to judicial custody, marking the beginning of their formal incarceration.
Trinamool Congress MP Samirul Islam drew the attention of Calcutta High Court on the case, arguing that the family were Indian residents and had been wrongfully expelled without proper administrative or legal scrutiny. On September 26, the High Court ordered that the family be brought back to India, noting the unusual circumstances under which they had been pushed across the border.
The matter escalated further when the case reached the Supreme Court of India. On November 27, the apex court asked the Union government to take immediate steps to secure the family’s return, observing that questions around jurisdiction, human rights, and cross-border administrative conduct needed a transparent resolution. “The Supreme Court Court has ordered repatriation yet the Central government is least bothered. This is because Sunali speaks Bengali. Thats the audacity of Modi government which has now grown bigger than the constitution and the institutions of the constitution”, TMC National General secretary Abhishek Banerjee had lashed out on Monday.
The formal process of bringing Sunali, her family and two others - Sweety Biwi and her child, back to India is yet to begin. Amidst the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter list in Bengal, Sunali’s mother reportedly appears in the 2002 voter list - a point in proof of her nationality as an Indian. That makes Sunali a natural Indian born to an Indian mother, yet without any trial she alone with her family were pushed into Bangladesh - even after possessing Indian documents like voter card and Aadhaar card. She thanked Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. “Without their support this wouldn’t have been possible. They provided me lawyers to fight my case in Bangladeshi court. Otherwise I would have perished in this unknown land along with my son and husband. I just want to get back to home now”, Sunali broke down.
