By Rokibuz Zaman
A 51-year-old former government teacher from Assam’s Morigaon district, who was picked up from his home on Friday night by the border police, has been forced out of Indian territory along the Bangladesh border, claims a video posted on Facebook on Tuesday by a Bangladeshi journalist.
In the video recorded by journalist Mostafuzur Tara from Bangladesh’s Rangpur division, Khairul Islam alleged that he was among 14 people “pushed” into Bangladesh by India’s Border Security Force on Tuesday morning.
He and the others are reported to be in no man’s land, between the two countries.
In the video, Islam is standing in a field somewhere in Kurigram district, Bangladesh – the location was confirmed by the superintendent of police of the district, Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman.
“I told the Assam police that I am a teacher and asked them to respect me,” Islam told the journalist. “My hands were tied like I was a thief and I was made to sit in the bus. Around 4 am, I reached here. A total of 14 people were pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF.”
A government teacher at Thengsali Khandapukhuri primary school until last December, Islam was declared a foreigner in 2016 by a tribunal.
The tribunal’s decision was upheld in 2018 by the Gauhati High Court. Islam was taken to the Matia detention centre, where he spent two years before he was released on bail in August 2020. His challenge to the High Court order is pending in the Supreme Court.
The last hearing of Islam’s case in the Supreme Court was on December 17, 2024, according to court records seen by Scroll.
On May 23, Islam was picked up from his home in Khandapukhuri village by the Assam police. He was among 14 people, all declared foreigners by Assam’s foreigners tribunals, who were re-arrested from Morigaon and Jorhat districts and sent to the Matia detention camp.
This story was originally published in scroll.in. Read the full story here.