BJP-ruled Bengal brands Muslim woman Bangladeshi despite valid papers

Kolkata: An Indian Muslim woman was allegedly illegally arrested, detained for nearly 90 hours and arbitrarily branded a "Bangladeshi" despite multiple government records establishing her Indian citizenship, prompting a human rights organisation to approach the Calcutta High Court alleging grave violations of constitutional safeguards and due process by the West Bengal Police and the CID, according to a report by Maktoob Media.

The complaint was submitted by Kirity Roy, Secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) and National Convenor of the Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), seeking the court's urgent intervention in the case of Sahida Fakir, wife of Jumman Fakir, a resident of Swarupdah village under Bithari Hakimpur Gram Panchayat in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal.

According to the complaint, Sahida migrated to Mumbai with her husband around 20 years ago in search of livelihood. She works as a domestic worker while her husband cleans vehicles. MASUM said her parents, Amanuddin Gazi and Majida Bibi, were recognised Indian voters whose names appeared in the 2002 electoral roll of the Swarupnagar Assembly constituency. It also stated that Sahida's birth was officially registered in 1995, her father's death was registered by the West Bengal Health Department in 2019, and that she possesses an Electoral Photo Identity Card, PAN card, registered birth certificate and land recorded in her name in Swarupnagar Block, collectively establishing her Indian citizenship.

Despite these records, the organisation alleged that Sahida was stopped by police on July 19 while on her way to a local market and forcibly taken to a building where persons suspected of being "illegal foreigners" were being detained. It alleged that the police and CID declared her a "Bangladeshi" without any judicial determination, investigation by a competent authority or procedure prescribed under law, and deprived her of her liberty.

MASUM further alleged that Sahida was neither produced before a judicial magistrate within 24 hours, informed of the grounds for her arrest nor allowed access to legal counsel or communication with her family. The complaint contended that her detention violated Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution, Sections 47 and 48 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and Supreme Court safeguards laid down in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, Joginder Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar.

The organisation argued that the police have no authority to determine a person's citizenship, which can only be decided under the Citizenship Act, 1955, the Foreigners Act, 1946 and other applicable laws through due legal process. It alleged that Sahida's detention, despite extensive official records supporting her citizenship, reflected a pattern of administrative arbitrariness against vulnerable and marginalised citizens and a disregard for constitutional guarantees and natural justice.

MASUM has asked the High Court to direct the authorities to immediately produce Sahida before the appropriate judicial magistrate and release her if no valid detention order exists. It has also sought an independent and time-bound investigation into the alleged illegal arrest and abuse of power, preservation of CCTV footage and official records, departmental and criminal action against the officials concerned, compensation for the alleged violation of Sahida's fundamental rights, and safeguards to prevent Indian citizens from being branded or detained as foreigners without due legal process.