Minajul Sheikh, a resident of Beldanga in Murshidabad district, told The Hindu that his brother Minarul Sheikh was picked up from Mumbai where he was working and subsequently forced into Bangladesh. Apart from Minarul Sheikh, at least two other workers were pushed into Bangladesh. The three workers — Minraul Sheikh and Nizamuddin Sheikh from Murshidabad and Mostafa Kamal Sheikh from Purba Bardhaman — also sent a video message to their relatives where they can be heard pleading before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other public representatives of the State to ensure their return to India.

It was only after the West Bengal government raised the issue, the workers were repatriated to India through the Mekhliganj border in Bangladesh on Sunday afternoon. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member and chairperson of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board Samirul Islam said when the workers were picked up by the police in Mumbai, all necessary documents were provided by the State government.

“What has happened is very unfortunate and illegal. These are citizens of India and cannot be illegally pushed into Bangladesh in such a manner,” Mr. Islam said.

On X he said, “Under the leadership and active intervention of our Chief Minister @MamataOfficial, we were finally able to repatriate seven Indian citizens who were illegally pushed back to Bangladesh by the BSF. The Maharashtra Police first detained them on suspicion of being Bangladeshis and then handed them over to the BSF, which carried out the final act of deporting these poor migrant workers to Bangladesh—only because they spoke Bengali. They were deported to Bangladesh despite they showed all relevant proof of being an Indian. 

I have some questions:

1. How did the Maharashtra Police hand over these migrant workers to the BSF without informing the West Bengal government?
2. Why didn’t the BSF contact the local administration to verify their identities before forcibly deporting them to another country?
3. Is there a larger plan by these BJP-ruled states and the BSF to target and harass Bengali-speaking migrant workers?

We will not let this issue go. We will expose the dark forces behind this misdeed and ensure justice.”

Under the leadership and active intervention of our Chief Minister @MamataOfficial, we were finally able to repatriate seven Indian citizens who were illegally pushed back to Bangladesh by the BSF. The Maharashtra Police first detained them on suspicion of being Bangladeshis and…

— Samirul Islam (@SamirulAITC) June 17, 2025

The officer-in-charge of the Mekhliganj Police Station Mani Bhusan Sarkar said that after he received information from police stations in Murshidabad and Bardhaman about the Indian nationals in Bangladesh, he informed authorities of the BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh. “The three men were handed over to us [Mekhliganj police station] after a flag meeting at the border,” the Officer-in-Charge said. According to sources, the three men were pushed into Bangladesh on Friday night somewhere along North Bengal and Bangladesh border.

Since mid-May 2025, in a cloak and dagger operation, without any public disclosure, some administrations in India have been “pushing back” undocumented Bangladeshi migrants detained across the country through the eastern border. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has expressed concern to India about the “push back” of individuals across the border, particularly undocumented migrants. Interestingly, there is no official word about the “push back” from the BSF. While instances of the “push back” of Bangladeshi nationals has come to the fore in Assam and Tripura, on this occasion, nationals of West Bengal were pushed into Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Assam has seen the most aggressive of this policy in action. Citizens for Justice and Peace has been at the forefront of documenting and agitating the issue, both with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Gauhati High Court. The memorandums to the NHRC may be referred to here. No evidence of due process has been followed by the Assam police in detaining without notice, persons who have every reason to state –with documents—that they are Indian. The last month’s coverage of the crisis may be read here, here and here. 

Related:

Assam: Academics, lawyers, activists condemn ‘push back’ of persons to Bangladesh

Assam: When six ordinary Indian women were forcibly pushed out from India–No Man’s land– Bangladesh & then back

Assam: Slamming Sarma’s actions as discriminatory & unlawful, LOP, Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia calls for an urgent stop to “pushback” of citizens

The post M’tra: Three West Bengal residents pushed into Bangladesh by BSF, return after WB state govt.’s intervention appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In some heart-warming news, the West Bengal government has confirmed the Indian citizenship of Gangadhar Pramanik, a man who had left Bankura a decade ago to look for a job in Assam, but instead found himself behind bars at the Goalpara Detention Centre. CJP had helped secure his release on conditional bail and our team had accompanied him all the way home.

The Telegraph reports that a team of Bengal government officials, led by Anup Kumar Dutta, sub-divisional officer (Bishnupur, Bankura) visited Pramanik’s home in Radhanagar village on Friday, September 17, and confirmed his Indian citizenship.

“I appreciate the way CJP took on the challenging task to bring me back to home, and how they persevered and even complete all the complicated formalities with all relevant authorities. I’m grateful to CJP. I am also grateful to local authorities and Bengal government for their help. I’m happy now,” says Gangadhar.

 “Gangadhar Pramanik has suffered an irreparable loss, of not just almost four years of his life spent behind bars, but also the death of his father. At CJP, we hope that this prompt, humane and Constitutional act of the Gov’t of West Bengal offers some form of compensation and relief to a family that has suffered so much,” said CJP secretary Teesta Setalvad.

“Hundreds of thousands of genuine Indian citizens hailing from different states, castes and communities are wilting under this burden of a civil death – manipulative denial of citizenship despite all proof – thrust upon them by an apathetic State. We hope that this action becomes a catalyst for this serial harassment to stop,” she adds.

Bankura District Magistrate K Radhika Aiyar told The Telegraph, “We have checked the land documents and details of his parents and their voter identity cards. Our officials also found his name in the register of the local primary school, where he studied till Class IV. This information makes it clear that he belongs to Bankura. We will now start the process to generate required documents and give him a job under the 100-day programme.”

Brief background of the case

33-year-old Gangadhar, had left his home in search of work all those years ago. Gangadhar’s father Mantu used to work in local shops while Gangadhar who had received an education till 5th standard, supplemented the family’s income by working in a saloon.

The young man, who had until then been a resident of Radhanagar village, that falls under the jurisdiction of the Bishnupur police station of Bankura district in West Bengal, boarded a train from Bishnupur to Howrah and then another train and eventually found himself in Guwahati!

Lost and penniless, he started working at a restaurant and later in a chocolate factory. But he had to quit after a drunk coworker assaulted him and left him with a head injury! Gangadhar quit and went back to his old job, where his former employer agreed to pay him his full wages when he went home. But it was not to be. “One day the police came and took me away. At the police station, they asked me my name and address,” he recalled his fresh bout of misfortune. “They kept me there overnight and then took me to another jail. I found out that they thought I was Bangladeshi,” a perplexed Gangadhar told us.

After Gangadhar went incommunicado on account of being arrested by the Border Police and being incarcerated in the detention centre, his father Mantu passed away, and his mother suffered from a bout of paralysis. Her mental health also deteriorated from the anxiety, and she moved in with Champa.

CJP overcomes unprecedented challenges

We had previously told you how CJP had found out about Pramanik from Dipak Deb and Fazar Ali, two other detainees we had helped get released on conditional bail. The men had been so demoralised, that they had contemplated everything from prison-break to suicide!

But we faced an unprecedented challenge in helping him get bail as he did not have an address or family in Assam. “When we found his address in West Bengal, we discovered that nobody lived there anymore. Moreover, there was no way to contact them as they had left behind no forwarding address or phone numbers,” says CJP Assam state team in-charge Nanda Ghosh. But we did not give up, and based on information provided by their former neighbours, we traced his mother Bharati to his sister Champa’s house. That was also when we learnt that Gangadhar’s father Mantu had passed away. But what was perhaps most heartbreaking was that Gangadhar found out about his father’s passing from the CJP team, as he had not been able to establish contact with anyone from his family until then.

After some difficulty we found a bailor, and even negotiated a complex set of conditions for his bail. “When we contacted the Border Police to start release formalities, we were told one of the conditions was that the released detainee should remain in Assam. But this is not possible for Pramanik,” explains Ghosh. Since Pramanik did not have an address in Assam, Ghosh and Advocate Abhijeet Chaudhury from CJP’s legal team had to give written undertakings that they would take him home to West Bengal and take responsibility for him. They were also made to submit copies of their own documents such as voter IDs and passports. Additionally, the CJP team helped establish contact between police officials from both states via telephone, so that the entire process could be completed smoothly.

We were coordinating between the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Border), the Additional Superintendent of Police (Bankura), and police officials from the Bishnupur police station under whose jurisdiction Pramanik’s village falls. “Now Pramanik will have to go and sign his attendance at the Radhanagar outpost of the Bishnupur Police Station every week. The officials from West Bengal Police will then send a copy of this via email to the Assam Border Police,” says Ghosh explaining the complex arrangement.

On September 14, Nanda Ghosh and Abhijeet Chaudhury boarded the Saraighat Express to Bardhaman with Gangadhar Pramanik. We reached Radhanagar on September 15, and there his entire village came out to greet the son they thought they had lost. Gangadhar’s mother, his cousin, and even the owner of the saloon where he once worked and many people in the area came. And then, a victory celebration broke out. The people brought sweets, puri etc.

Friends and family gathered around him, and his mother Bharati remained in shock for a while, her eyes wide in wonder at the sight of her son. “This is my son… My Ganga is back,” she kept saying as she hugged and held him. “I didn’t know what had happened to you,” she said, asking, “Couldn’t you have called me? Did they not let you call me?” She finally got to feed her son a home-cooked meal. She turned to the CJP team and said, “Baba (term of endearment), stay well. God bless you!” Then she looked at her son and said, “This is my son, this is my son, this is my Ganga.”

Other examples of Indians declared “foreigner” in India

Over the last few months, we have brought to you instances of people from other Indian states being declared foreigners in Assam and sent to detention camps. These include Lalit Thakur – a barber from Bihar, Dipak Deb – who hails from Tripura, and Mrinal Mandal – who originally hails from West Bengal, but moved to Assam after marrying an Assamese woman. CJP remains committed to helping all our fellow Indians live with dignity.

Related:

“This is my son… My Ganga is back!”
CJP helps yet another man from West Bengal declared “foreigner” in Assam
CJP helps secure release of Bihari man dubbed Bangladeshi in Assam!
CJP helps Tripura man reunite with ailing mother
CJP comes to the rescue of West Bengal man dubbed “foreigner” in Assam!

The post CJP Impact: Gangadhar Pramanik’s Indian citizenship confirmed by WB gov’t appeared first on SabrangIndia.

West Bengal farmers will start a strong movement if Minimum Support Prices (MSP) is not made a legal assurance for all agri-produce, said the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), on September 16, 2021.

Stating that over 60 percent of people and 68 percent land in the state is engaged in agriculture, the AIKSCC farmers submitted a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with a draft of the MSP law to demand legalisation of the remunerative prices.

“The National Commission on Farmers (Swaminathan Commission) has recommended a policy of remunerative pricing which clearly states that the minimum price of the agricultural produce should be fixed by adding at least 50 percent to the comprehensive cost of production,” said AIKSCC Secretary Avik Saha during a press conference on Thursday.

Farmers said that they are unable to earn enough despite good investment and good yields. Agriculture accounts for 27 percent of the state’s GDP yet farmers’ conditions continue to deteriorate.

“Farmers are not able to meet the basic needs of the family with the income they are getting from the prices they are getting for their produce, after deducting the cost of production,” said State Secretary Kartick Pal.

Moreover, the AIKSCC said that farmers and agricultural workers are suffering severe debt. In some cases, some farmers are driven to death by suicide. Farmers said that it is the constitutional duty of the government to protect the lives and livelihoods of farmers and all people associated with it.

“The state government must formulate policies to ensure the implementation of the Right to Life and the Right to Livelihood and to prevent the misery of farmers by enacting and enforcing appropriate laws,” said Saha.

A demand for legal MSP has been a longstanding demand of farmers participating in the nationwide struggle as well. On September 15, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) said that the National Statistical Office’s (NSO) seventy-seventh survey revealed how the mandi system was weakening under the BJP-led central government. Farmers said this can be correlated to the decline in real farm incomes of agricultural households.

“The NSSO report shows that the percentage of agricultural households that sold their produce at the government mandis has decreased significantly between 2013 and 2019 – this is the period that coincides with the NDA-1 regime of the Modi Government. The majority of the agricultural households were unaware of the MSP announced by the government, and most blamed lack of infrastructure for not being able to sell at the APMC mandis,” said the SKM.

The SKM alleged that such facts argue that the government is weakening mandis in the favor of corporations. Farmers across India are preparing for Bharat Bandh on September 27.

Related:

WB activists and CSOs demand delinking of Census from NPR-NRC process
Ayush Sinha sent on leave: Farmers call Haryana govt’s move, righting of a severe wrong
Lakhs of farmers flood Muzaffarnagar mahapanchayat!

The post Strong response if WB govt does not pass MSP Bill: SKM appeared first on SabrangIndia.

West Bengal has reportedly formed a two-member inquiry commission to look into the Pegasus Project. According to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, this panel will investigate surveillance scandal where the spy software Pegasus was allegedly used to snoop on about 300 Indians including politicians, journalists, and human rights activists using the Israeli spyware Pegasus. The Commission consists of the former Supreme Court judge Madan Bhimrao Lokur, and former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, Jyotirmay Bhattacharya.

The Indian Express quoted her saying, “We thought the Centre would form an inquiry commission or a court-monitored probe would be ordered to look into this phone-hacking incident. But the Centre is sitting idle…So we decided to form a commission of inquiry to look into the matter.” She added, “Names of people from West Bengal have figured on the Pegasus target list. The Centre is trying to snoop on everyone. The commission will find out details about this illegal hacking.”

As per some media reports, Banerjee had also urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of this Pegasus spyware row, and had asked all opposition parties to form a united front against the central government without any delay.

Her nephew and Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee, has also appeared on a list of potential surveillance targets, as reported by The Wire. West Bengal is the first state to have formed such a committee to investigate this hacking scandal.

John Brittas, a Rajya Sabha Member has also moved the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored probe into reports of alleged snooping.

Rajya Sabha member John Brittas has moved the #SupremeCourt seeking a court-monitored probe into reports of alleged snooping of activists, politicians, journalists and constitutional functionaries using Israeli spyware #Pegasus.https://t.co/YfGT7E5ubZ

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) July 25, 2021

Related:

Pegasus spyware trotting into ministers’ phones, who is next?

The post Pegasus scandal: Justice Lokur part of West Bengal’s inquiry commission appeared first on SabrangIndia.