‘She had stepped out to buy food’: Bengali woman from Mumbai allegedly detained, forcibly pushed into Bangladesh

Mumbai: Sahida Fakir, a woman originally from West Bengal who had been living in Navi Mumbai for nearly two decades, was allegedly detained by Mumbai Police on suspicion of being an “illegal immigrant” and later sent to Bangladesh despite her family producing documents they say establish her Indian citizenship, Scroll.in reported.

According to the report, Sahida left her home in Navi Mumbai on July 19 to buy food for dinner, leaving her 10-year-old son behind. Hours later, her husband, Jumman Fakir, received a call from the Chembur crime branch informing him that Sahida had been detained.

Jumman told Scroll.in that Sahida said police personnel forcibly took her to a building where people suspected of being undocumented immigrants were being held. Her food, phone and Aadhaar card were allegedly taken away.

“She was detained because she was a Bengali,” Jumman said, according to the report.

For four days, Jumman visited the police station carrying documents including Sahida’s birth certificate. He said police demanded her parents’ birth certificates as well, which he said were unavailable because such documents were not commonly issued during their time.

On July 23, Jumman was allegedly told that Sahida was no longer at the police station and had been sent to Bangladesh.

“They told me she had been sent to Bangladesh,” Jumman told Scroll.in. “I told them you have made a great mistake. She is an Indian. Where will she go? How will she fend for herself?”

Sahida later contacted her husband from Bangladesh. According to Jumman, a family in Satkhira district has provided her shelter.

Scroll.in said it contacted the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai police commissioners seeking details about the grounds for Sahida’s detention. The queries were forwarded to senior police officials, but no response had been received at the time of publication.

A human rights organisation also wrote to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on July 23, alleging Sahida’s “illegal arrest, arbitrary detention, denial of constitutional safeguards, and unlawful” identification as a Bangladeshi.

Kirity Roy, secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha, said executive authorities could not declare someone a foreign national merely on the basis of suspicion or profiling.

“Executive authorities have no jurisdiction to declare an individual as a foreign national merely on suspicion or profiling,” Roy said, according to Scroll.in.

He alleged that Sahida’s detention and deportation, despite documentary evidence supporting her Indian citizenship, reflected “a disturbing pattern of arbitrary action against vulnerable citizens.”

Family says documents establish Indian citizenship

Sahida was born in 1988 in Swarupdaha village in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, according to documents and accounts cited by Scroll.in. Her family has roots in Gobindapur, where her grandfather Badshah Gazi was reportedly a permanent resident.

Residents of Gobindapur wrote to the North 24 Parganas district magistrate on August 5, urging authorities to bring Sahida back from Bangladesh. The residents said they had known her and her family for generations.

“In front of all our eyes, she has grown up, gotten married, and taken up domestic life,” the residents said in their letter, according to Scroll.in.

Sahida moved to Mumbai with her husband around 20 years ago in search of work. She worked as a domestic worker, while Jumman worked as a car cleaner. The couple have two sons.

Jumman told Scroll.in that he submitted several documents to the police, including Sahida’s voter identity card issued in 2008, a birth certificate recording her birth in Swarupdaha, a school certificate and documents relating to land ownership in Gobindapur.

He also submitted his father-in-law’s death certificate, he said.

“But they ignored all the documents and branded her as a Bangladeshi without any notice, investigation or a court order,” Jumman said.

Sahida’s parents were also listed in the 2002 electoral roll, according to a copy reviewed by Scroll.in. However, during the recent special intensive revision of electoral rolls, Sahida was marked as “under adjudication”. An appeal against her exclusion is pending before the relevant tribunal.

‘Police have to be held accountable’

Jumman was able to speak to Sahida by phone on July 27. He said a Bangladeshi family in Sonabaria in Satkhira district had taken her in.

He told Scroll.in that Bangladeshi police and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel had subsequently begun monitoring the family’s home after learning of Sahida’s presence through local media reports.

Jumman said the family had repeatedly asked him to take Sahida back, claiming there was “pressure from the top”.

The village where Sahida is currently staying lies across the border from Swarupdaha, her birthplace.

Jumman said he could potentially arrange for her return with the help of residents on both sides of the border but wanted to pursue a lawful process.

“She is just across the river. But we will bring her legally. The police have to be held accountable for why they sent my wife to Bangladesh illegally,” he told Scroll.in.