By Ravik Bhattacharya , Vijay Kumar Yadav
A 36-year-old man from West Bengal, who had gone to Maharashtra for work, was picked up by Maharashtra Police, suspecting him to be an illegal Bangladesh migrant, and was pushed across the border into the neighbouring country by the Border Security Force (BSF) in the wee hours of Saturday.
The Maharashtra Police and the BSF, according to the West Bengal government, pushed Mehbub Sheikh into Bangladesh despite intervention from the West Bengal Police, state Migrant Welfare Board and submission of necessary documents to prove his Indian citizenship.
“After Sheikh’s family approached us, we contacted the Maharashtra Police. All the (required) documents were sent to them. They didn’t even bother to inform the West Bengal government, and Sheikh was pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF,” Samirul Islam, chairman of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, told The Indian Express.
Sheikh’s family said they are residents of Hossainnagar village in Mahisasthali gram panchayat area of Bhagabangola in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. The 36-year-old worked as a mason in Maharashtra.
“For the past two years, he has been working in Maharashtra. He used to stay in the Mira Road area of Thane near Mumbai. Five days ago (Wednesday, June 11), while he was having tea, police picked him up, suspecting him to be a Bangladeshi, and took him to Kanakia police station,” Sheikh’s younger brother Mujibur told The Indian Express over the phone from Murshidabad.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.