A growing sense of fear has reportedly gripped several villages in Murshidabad’s Suti area amid allegations that police have been detaining residents on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals and subsequently attempting to push some of them across the international border.
Human rights activists and civil society members claim that around 10 people have been detained in the area in recent months in cases involving allegations of attempted pushbacks. They have raised concerns over what they describe as arrests and detentions carried out without adequate legal safeguards.
A delegation comprising human rights activists, social workers and academics recently visited Suti as part of a fact-finding exercise into the allegations. The delegation included human rights activist Biplab Nayak, Kiriti Roy, convenor of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), and University of Kent associate professors Sanjay Bhattacharya and Antara Swarnakar.
According to the activists, several Bengali-speaking Muslim residents have been picked up despite allegedly possessing Indian identity documents. They claimed that after being taken into custody, some individuals became difficult for their families to trace because they were allegedly transferred to BSF facilities or holding centres.
Fact-Finding Team Visits Suti
The delegation visited Suti on September 14 to examine reports of alleged police action against residents suspected of being Bangladeshi nationals.
This story was originally published in theobserverpost.com. Read the full story here.