Pregnant woman from Bengal forced across border released from Bangladesh jail on bail

A pregnant woman from West Bengal, Sunali Khatun, who was pushed into Bangladesh by Indian authorities in June on allegations of being an undocumented immigrant, and later jailed there for “illegal entry”, was released on bail on Monday evening, The Times of India reported.

She walked out of Chapainawabganj jail at around 7.30 pm along with her husband Danish Sk, their eight-year-old son Shabir and Sweety Bibi and her two sons, after more than three months in custody.

Their release followed a local court order that granted them bail on humanitarian grounds. A Bangladeshi citizen stood surety for the group and provided a bail bond of 5,000 taka.

The development came on the same day that the Indian Supreme Court asked the Union government to consider allowing Khatun and her son to return “on humanitarian grounds”, The Indian Express reported.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted Khatun's advanced pregnancy and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to seek instructions on whether she could be permitted to re-enter India through the Malda border.

The Supreme Court, however, did not make any statement on the return of her husband. The case is slated to be heard further on Wednesday, the newspaper reported.

Earlier in the day, the Chapainawabganj court accepted arguments that the group included a pregnant woman and children and ordered their release on bail.

However, the magistrate set conditions that they must remain in Bangladesh and appear before the court when required. The court also directed that Khatun receive appropriate medical care and be admitted to hospital if necessary, The Indian Express reported.

Khatun told The Times of India over the phone that she wanted to return home to India and added that she had not been keeping well of late. She thanked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee for standing by their side.

Khatun also said that the police in Chapainawabganj had asked them to appear at the police station at 9.30 pm, The Times of India reported.

“I do not know what is happening or why the police want to speak to me again,” the newspaper quoted her as saying. “I just hope that I return home quickly.”

Sk Mofizul, a social worker who has been in Bangladesh for several months assisting the families, said that he had arranged rented accommodation for them in the district. He added that the bail order had no directive that Khatun and the rest of them be repatriated to India.

Khatun, Sweety Bibi and their families have maintained that they hail from West Bengal's Birbum district. Khatun, her husband and son were taken into custody in Delhi on June 20, and all three were sent to Bangladesh six days later.

The Calcutta High Court had on September 26 set aside the deportation order against six persons, including Khatun. It had directed that they be brought back to West Bengal within four weeks.

Two days before the four-week period ended on October 24, the Union government challenged the order before the Supreme Court. The Centre and the Delhi Police have questioned whether the High Court had the jurisdiction to hear the case.

Since May, thousands of Bengali-speaking migrant workers have been rounded up in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party and asked to prove that they were Indian citizens – and not undocumented immigrants.

In several cases, workers have been declared foreigners within days and forced into Bangladesh, despite being Indian citizens.

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Source: Scroll
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