Jun 17, 2025 05:29 PM IST West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of launching a “witch-hunt” in opposition to Bengali-speaking Indian residents in states dominated by the them and labelling them as Bangladeshi Kolkata: The West Bengal police have helped a pair from the state to return dwelling days after they have been declared unlawful Bangladeshi immigrants by Maharashtra police and deported to the neighbouring nation by the Border Security Force (BSF), police officers mentioned. The couple have been launched by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Monday. (Representational picture) “Fazal Mondal, a migrant worker, and his wife Taslima were released by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Monday. We took them home safely,” Ganesh Bain, officer-in-charge of North 24 Parganas district’s Bagdah police station, advised HT. Fazal Mondal, a resident of Hariharpur village in Bagdah, went to Karnataka in 2024 along with his spouse looking for livelihood and the couple moved to the Naya Nagar space in Mumbai 5 months in the past. They have been arrested on June 10 and deported to Bangladesh on June 14, Mondal’s father Tahajul Mondal advised the media on Tuesday. Tahajul Mondal mentioned: “My son and daughter-in-law were detained at Naya Nagar police station on June 10 and declared illegal Bangladeshi immigrants although they carried documents such as Aadhar and PAN cards. I contacted the Maharashtra police and sent copies of more documents, including a certificate the health department issued after my son was administered polio vaccine when he was a child.” “They were arrested only because they speak Bengali which is our mother tongue. Can’t people speak their mother tongue?” he mentioned. “On June 14, a man claiming to be a BGB official called us up and said my son and his wife had been deported and we should seek help from our local administration to get them back. We immediately informed the police and sought help from local Trinamool Congress leaders as well,” Mondal added. BSF didn’t touch upon the couple. The couple have been launched by BGB a day after three migrant employees from Murshidabad district and two from East Burdwan district managed to return to India via the Mekhliganj border outpost in north Bengal’s Cooch Behar district. These males have been held by Mumbai police on June 12 and handed over to BSF, which deported them on June 14. They, too, claimed that they have been arrested after they confirmed paperwork resembling Aadhar and PAN playing cards. After these 5 males have been introduced again to India on Monday, HT tried to get official feedback from BSF’s South Bengal Frontier and the North Bengal Frontier headquarters. Emails and reminder e-mails have been despatched however there was no response. The Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police denied allegations that Indian nationals have been pushed to Bangladesh. “After the arrest of an illegal Bangladeshi national for attacking actor Saif Ali Khan, they had received orders from the Home department to conduct a drive against illegal immigrants staying in the region. Based on these orders, the police had conducted a combing operation, identified and detained several illegal immigrants from the region in the past three months,” mentioned Prakash Gaikwad, deputy commissioner of police, Mira Road. Meanwhile, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Centre over this situation whereas addressing the state legislative meeting on Monday. She accused the BJP of launching a “witch-hunt” in opposition to Bengali-speaking Indian residents in states dominated by the them and labelling these individuals as Bangladeshi with out making an allowance for legitimate paperwork. (With enter from Kanchan V. Chaudhari)
