After the attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, India initially pointed fingers at Pakistan. However, it soon became evident that the target wasn’t just Pakistan. The ruling Hindutyabadi regime in India turned its harsh gaze inward—towards the country’s innocent Muslim population. In this context, a series of special operations began across various Indian states under the pretext of identifying “illegal Bangladeshis.”
A horrifying picture of these operations, involving people being dragged from their homes in the dead of night and pushed into Bangladesh, was captured in a BBC Bangla investigative report. The wails of victims’ families laid bare the cruelty of India’s Hindutyabadi government.
According to the report, the first operation began in Gujarat, where police detained about 6,500 people—many of them Bengali-speaking Indians. In the end, only about 450 were confirmed as Bangladeshis.
Similar searches occurred around the same time in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi. Those able to prove their Indian citizenship were released. Others, the BBC found, were in the process of being forcibly sent to Bangladesh.
In Assam, the operation began shortly after those in the other states. Officially, it was conducted under a Supreme Court order. Those detained had already been declared “foreigners” by the state’s Foreigners Tribunals. In official terms, they were “Declared Foreign Nationals.”
While the government has not disclosed how many people were detained in Assam, human rights workers estimate more than 300 people were taken. Complaints have been lodged with the National Human Rights Commission about 145 individuals who remain missing.
Midnight Police Raids
The BBC visited several homes of recently detained individuals in Assam. According to families and activists, the operation began on May 23. In almost every case, a large police force arrived at night.
In Morigaon district, Abdul Latif was summoned to the police station late at night. His daughter Sanjema Begum recalled that her father received a call from the police around 10:30 PM, asking him to come in. They were told to wait, and the next morning at 6 AM, he was locked up.
In Chirang district, around 11 PM on May 25, police came to the home of 60-year-old Abdul Sheikh. His wife Ayesha Bibi said both male and female officers arrived, claiming they needed fingerprints for Aadhaar verification—even though earlier they were told to come to the station the next morning.
Despite assurances that Abdul Sheikh would be returned soon, the family never found out where he was taken. “From that night, my husband has been missing,” said Ayesha Bibi.
Like a Kidnapping
Former teacher Khairul Islam from Morigaon, and Shaha Ali from Chirang, were similarly detained. Khairul had previously been declared a foreigner by a tribunal and spent years in a detention camp. He had returned home on bail during the COVID pandemic and had been regularly reporting to the police station as required.
Yet, around 2 AM on May 25, police arrived with a large force and took him away. His mother, Khudaza Khatun, said, “We have all the documents proving our citizenship. How can my son be Bangladeshi?”
As police dragged Khairul away, his wife pleaded to speak with him or even just see his face. “They didn’t even let us say a word. They just snatched him away like a kidnapping,” said his mother.
Other families, including Rizia Khatun and Hafiza Begum, told similar stories. They added that police warned them not to record videos during the arrests.
Where Are Our Husbands and Sons?
Families say they were initially told detainees were taken to the superintendent’s office, only to be turned away when they went to check. Some later found out that their relatives were sent to the Matia detention camp in Goalpara district, but even there, no official information was provided.
Rizia Khatun, wife of Muhammad Mujibur Sheikh, said her husband was taken on May 25. When family members went to the police and SP offices the next day, no one had any information. “Where did they take them—another country or did they kill them? We don’t know,” she said.
‘Direct to Bangladesh’
A few days after the arrests began, a video went viral showing several men and women stranded in no man’s land on the Kurigram border, claiming they were from Assam and had been held in the Matia detention camp before being pushed into Bangladesh by Indian authorities.
Bangladesh border guards refused to accept them, forcing the group to spend the night in no man’s land. One man identified himself as a former teacher from Morigaon district.
BBC traced him to be Khairul Islam. They visited his home in Assam and spoke with his wife, Rita Khanum. She said he had checked in with police as usual on May 23. That night, police came, saying they needed to question him briefly. He never returned.
Later, they received a viral video showing Khairul in a paddy field in Bangladesh. “He was lying there in a field. I was shocked. How did this happen?” said Khanum.
Another person in the same video was Abdul Latif. His daughter said he had been held in the Morigaon police lock-up and later taken to the detention camp. “And then we saw that video—there’s my father in a rice field in Bangladesh. Just like that—directly to Bangladesh,” she said.
Return from No Man’s Land
BBC confirmed that Khairul Islam had returned home four days after the video went viral. Human rights group Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) also confirmed that some others were returned as well.
Senior Guwahati High Court lawyer Hafiz Rashid Choudhury, representing Khairul and others, said, “The court issued a notice, and the government brought them back. Why did they harass them like this?”
CJP’s Assam head, Parijat Nanda Ghosh, said about 300 people were detained during the operation, and around 150 have returned. However, there is still no trace of 145 others.
What Does the Indian Government Say?
Assam police have not responded to questions about the operations or the forced push-ins. An email to the police director general went unanswered, according to the BBC.
However, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma admitted at a press conference that “push-backs” were happening, under Supreme Court direction. He said those declared foreigners but who hadn’t appealed in court were being pushed back.
He added that police across districts had been directed to accelerate the process of identifying foreigners and coordinating with the central government to deport them.
‘Push-Back’ or ‘Push-Out’?
Some of those pushed into Bangladesh recorded videos from there, saying they had been handed over by BSF. While the BSF has not commented, such forced transfers are called “push-back” from India’s side and “push-in” from Bangladesh’s.
However, CJP’s Parijat Nanda Ghosh insists this should be called a “push-out” because Indian citizens are being thrown out of their own country.
Referring to Khairul Islam’s case, he said, “The tribunal declared someone a foreigner, but never confirmed what country they belong to. And then they end up in Bangladesh’s fields? That’s the real question.”
Missing Persons Outside Detention Camps
Families of those still missing often gather outside the Matia detention camp. Hafiza Begum, whose husband Atap Uddin was mentally ill, said he was taken by police on May 26. Despite repeated efforts, she received no information.
Breaking down in tears outside the camp, she said, “I brought food and clothes for him. But they didn’t even let me see him. My child, who loves his father dearly, has stopped going to school and eating. Who knows when we’ll see him again?”
(Disclaimer: This report was translated from Bangla to English using ChatGPT.
Original Link: priyodeshnews.com/push-in-assam-the-story-of-indias-inhumanity-to-its-own-citizens)
