Sunali Khatun (right) and Sweety Bibi after their release from Chapainawabganj jail in Bangladesh
Photo: Indian Express
A pregnant woman from West Bengal, Sunali Khatun, who was allegedly pushed into Bangladesh by Indian authorities in June on suspicion of being an undocumented immigrant and later imprisoned there for “illegal entry”, was released on bail on Monday evening, according to The Times of India.
Reports said she was freed from Chapainawabganj jail around 7.30 pm along with her husband Danish Sk, their eight-year-old son Shabir, and another woman, Sweety Bibi, with her two sons, after spending more than three months in custody.
Their release reportedly followed an order from a local court, which granted bail on humanitarian grounds. A Bangladeshi national is said to have acted as guarantor and submitted a bail bond of 5,000 taka for the group.
The development coincided with proceedings in the Supreme Court of India, which on the same day asked the Union government to examine whether Khatun and her child could be allowed to return to India on humanitarian grounds, as reported by The Indian Express.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of her advanced stage of pregnancy and sought a response from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on the possibility of permitting her re-entry through the Malda border, Scroll.in reported.
The Supreme Court of India is reported to have made no observation on whether Khatun’s husband would be allowed to return, adding that the matter would be taken up for further hearing on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, a court in Chapainawabganj accepted submissions that the group included a pregnant woman and children and granted them bail. However, the magistrate is said to have imposed conditions requiring them to remain in Bangladesh and to appear before the court as and when summoned. The court also directed that Khatun should receive proper medical attention and be hospitalised if required, according to The Indian Express.
Speaking to The Times of India over the phone, Khatun reportedly said she wished to return to India and mentioned that her health had not been good in recent days. She also expressed gratitude to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee for supporting her family.
She further told the newspaper that police in Chapainawabganj had asked her and her family to report to the police station at 9.30 pm, adding that she was unsure why they had been called again and hoped to be able to return home soon.
Sk Mofizul, a social worker assisting the families in Bangladesh, said he had arranged rented accommodation for them in the district. He added that the bail order did not include any direction for their repatriation to India.
Khatun, Sweety Bibi and their families have said they are residents of Birbhum district in West Bengal. Khatun, her husband and son were detained in Delhi on June 20 and were sent to Bangladesh six days later.
On September 26, the Calcutta High Court had set aside the deportation order against six people, including Khatun, and instructed that they be brought back to West Bengal within four weeks. Before the deadline expired on October 24, the Union government challenged the order in the Supreme Court, questioning both the ruling and the High Court’s authority to hear the case. The Centre and the Delhi Police are reported to have argued that the High Court lacked jurisdiction in the matter.
Since May, thousands of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party are said to have been detained and asked to prove their citizenship. In several instances, reports say, workers were quickly declared foreigners and sent to Bangladesh, despite holding Indian citizenship.