By Ghazala Ahmad
Hours after allegations surfaced that three women and a child, including a minor from West Bengal, had been wrongfully detained as suspected Bangladeshi nationals despite possessing valid Indian documents, authorities in Maharashtra’s Thane district released them late on Tuesday night following public outrage.
The four individuals had been held at a detention facility after being accused of being Bangladeshi citizens.
However, according to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Women’s Youth President Rubina Ammar Patel, the detainees possessed valid Indian identity documents, including passports and Aadhaar cards, and their citizenship had already been verified by authorities in West Bengal.
Patel alleged that despite the verification, the Thane administration continued to detain them, claiming that the documents could be forged and that the investigation was still ongoing.
The matter came to light when Patel shared a video outside the police station, alleging the illegal detention of the individuals. The video snowballed into widespread demands for accountability.
Speaking to Maktoob on Wednesday, Patel said that all of them were released following social media outrage and the intervention of AIMIM.
She said, “Three women and the child have all valid documents proving that they are Indian citizens. The West Bengal administration also confirmed their identity, yet they were kept in detention on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals for hours.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.