02, Jun 2025 | BBC.com

The translation of this article may be read here:

A case has been filed in India’s Guwahati High Court regarding the push-back incident of 14 individuals, including an Indian teacher, through Bangladesh’s Kurigram border.

BSF allegedly pushed back the individuals on Tuesday early morning. One of them, Khairul Islam, spoke to local journalists in Kurigram, Bangladesh, claiming they were forcibly sent to Bangladesh in a video.

Sakhawat Hossain, a journalist in Kurigram, confirmed to BBC Bangla that he stood inside Bangladesh while speaking with Mr. Islam.

In a video recorded by Mr. Hossain, Khairul Islam claimed his home is in Mikirvita area under Morigaon district of Assam and he is a teacher by profession.

Hafiz Rashid Choudhury, a senior lawyer of the Guwahati High Court in Assam, confirmed to BBC Bangla that he was Khairul Islam’s lawyer and knows him well as a teacher from Morigaon. Choudhury also mentioned that there were questions raised about Islam’s citizenship, and the case is currently ongoing in the Supreme Court of India. “How could someone with a pending case in the Supreme Court be pushed to a neighboring country across the border? Is there no rule of law in the country?” Choudhury questioned. He filed a case in the Guwahati High Court on Wednesday, which may come up for hearing on Thursday.

What Khairul Islam said

In the video sent to BBC by Sakhawat Hossain, a local journalist from Kurigram, Khairul Islam mentioned his parents’ names and stated that his home is in Khandapukuri village under Mikirvita police station in Morigaon district of Assam.

He stated that on May 23, he was “picked up from his home” by border police and brought to the SP office the next day.

There, fingerprints of all ten fingers were taken from him and others. Afterwards, they were taken to the detention camp in Matia, Goalpara district, Assam, for foreigners.

On Monday, some of them were suddenly called out, told they had to go somewhere.

“I said, let’s take our bedding, but they said no need to. I asked, why not? They should tell us. I told the others that nobody would go without knowing why we shouldn’t take our bedding,” said Mr. Islam.

Mr. Islam alleged that he was severely beaten for protesting. “They beat me so brutally, oh my god… I’ve never been beaten like that in my life,” he said, adding that he thought they might kill him from the intensity of the beating.

After that, their eyes were covered, hands were tied behind their backs, and they were taken to the border, according to Mr. Islam.

Mr. Islam alleged that they were mistreated there, although they were given food. Afterwards, they were pushed back through a paddy field near the border.

What happens after coming to Bangladesh.

Local journalist Sakhawat Hossain from Kurigram told BBC that after crossing the border, the 14 individuals took shelter at the home of a local Bangladeshi named Abu Syed.

According to local sources, during this time, BGB attempted to send the 14 individuals back to India.

However, the Indian border security forces refused to accept them, labeling them as “Bangladeshi infiltrators” and blocking their way.

Then, they sat at the zero line of the border.

Sakhawat Hossain stated that the 14 individuals were constantly being monitored by drones from the Indian side. He himself recorded video of the drones flying during the day and learned that nighttime surveillance was also conducted.

However, on Wednesday morning, the 14 individuals were no longer seen at the border.

Khairul Islam had given a video interview standing inside Bangladesh, and a few days before that, he was seen in a video news report broadcast on a local news portal in Assam.

At that time, Morigaon police had detained him along with a few others on suspicion of being “Bangladeshi infiltrators”. In the video, Mr. Islam spoke in clear Assamese.

After Khairul Islam’s statement given while standing in Bangladesh, the Guwahati border sector of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) issued a statement.

They stated that on Tuesday early morning, in the South Salmara Mankachar district of Assam, a large group of Bangladeshi citizens attempted to infiltrate the India-Bangladesh border, but it was successfully foiled.

Although the BSF statement did not specify the exact area of South Salmara Mankachar where they “foiled the attempt of Bangladeshi nationals to infiltrate”, it is reported that Khairul Islams were pushed back through the international border in a nearby area. However, BSF never acknowledges push-back incidents.

Special operation in Assam from Saturday

Human rights organization Citizens for Justice and Peace is reporting that hundreds of individuals have been detained from various districts since last Saturday.

Among them are individuals who were declared foreigners by Assam’s Foreigners’ Tribunals but later secured bail from the Gauhati High Court or India’s Supreme Court.

“The number is in the hundreds,” said Nanda Ghosh, Assam state in-charge of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP).

He said, “Some sources indicate that the detained men and women have been brought to the Detention Camp in Matia, Goalpara district, although family members have been told nothing – neither by the Border Police, nor the police station, nor the detention camp authorities.”

Upon receiving this news, Mr. Ghosh spent the entire day on Tuesday with CJP lawyers, waiting outside the camp.

“Many family members of the victims gathered outside the camp, but the authorities didn’t pay any attention to them. When we approached with lawyers to gather information, we weren’t provided with any details. We were also denied the opportunity to offer legal aid. Despite multiple attempts, we were unable to meet with the jail superintendent.”

“Even when we provided memorandums detailing where the law is being violated, along with Supreme Court orders, the detention camp authorities refused to accept them,” said Mr. Ghosh.

He further stated that none of these individuals are convicted foreigners or CFNs (Convicted Foreign Nationals).

They’ve been declared foreigners by the tribunals. Everyone knows how these foreigner tribunals operate in Assam, with their inherent biases. Often, minor spelling mistakes or slight discrepancies in dates can lead to someone being declared a foreigner.

“But those who approach the higher courts – the High Court or the Supreme Court – often secure bail.”

He further said, “Those who have died in detention camps, not a single body has been sent abroad. Instead, they’ve been sent to their relatives’ homes in Assam.”

He said, “In the name of foreigners, the poor, uneducated, and laboring marginal people are being harassed, and an attempt is being made to create fear! When a video of an Indian teacher, who works for the Assam government, emerges from No Man’s Land, isn’t that shameful?”

Case filed in Guwahati

Guwahati High Court senior lawyer Hafiz Rashid Choudhury said, “Many of those detained over the past few days have ongoing cases in court. And this is being done to one particular community. The majority of those detained are Muslims.”

“And push-back operations are against the law. Even if some of them are foreigners, it still can’t be done. Earlier, the Assam government itself had submitted an affidavit in court stating that no push-backs have been done since 2013, and instead, extradition is carried out. There’s a specific procedure for extradition, which could have been followed,” said Mr. Choudhury.

He also said that the way people are being picked up from their homes and taken away without informing their family members about their whereabouts is against the Constitution.

“Even a foreign citizen has this right. I myself filed a case in the High Court on Wednesday. I hope the case will be heard on Thursday,” said Mr. Choudhury.

Khairul Islam’s lawyer in the Guwahati High Court was Hafiz Rashid Choudhury.

“He was once taken into detention, but during the pandemic, he was granted bail on certain conditions. He had been complying with all the bail conditions. We did lose the case in the High Court, but he had then approached the Supreme Court to prove his citizenship,” said Hafiz Rashid Choudhury.

According to the Supreme Court’s website, the latest hearing in Khairul Islam’s case was held on December 17, 2024.

On that day, the court directed that the original documents from the Foreigners Tribunal be presented in court.

That means no verdict was delivered in the case on that day either.

Hafiz Rashid Choudhury expressed astonishment over how a person can be pushed to another country while their case is still ongoing in court.

The original piece may be read here