Bengal: Man in custody for 87 days as 'Bangladeshi' walks free after court finds no conclusive proof

Kolkata, Sep 15 (PTI) A 70-year-old resident of West Bengal's Uttar Dinajpur district, who was in custody for 87 days after police branded him a 'Bangladeshi', finally walked out of a detention centre on Tuesday after a court granted him bail on grounds of law enforcers failing to produce conclusive evidence of his "illegal immigrant" status.

Jalil Akhtar, a daily-wage earner from Bagrai village in the district's Bazargaon 2 panchayat area and a diabetes patient, was allegedly picked up by a team of Dalkhola Police on June 20 on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi, although his family members claimed to have submitted documents, including a 1967 land deed in the name of the suspect's father, to prove his Indian citizenship.

He was arrested under provisions of Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, which deals with penalties for violating the provisions of the law, allowing police to prosecute foreign nationals for entering and staying in India without valid documents.

The bail order by a court in Islampur sparked fresh controversy with TMC MP Samirul Islam questioning "police high-handedness" in the state, and "subjecting citizens to extreme harassment and incarceration in the name of nabbing Bangladeshi infiltrators".

PTI had earlier reported that Akhtar's family members alleged that he was initially detained at the Nizampur holding centre in Chakulia in Uttar Dinajpur and was subsequently moved to another such centre in Fulbari near Siliguri, from where multiple attempts were made for his handover to the BSF with plans for a "push back to Bangladesh".

The family further claimed that, after examining his documents, the BSF did not send him across the border and instead returned him to the detention centre.

"From the materials in the CD (case diary), it appears that the deportation proceedings could not be completed as the accused, during the course of the deportation process, claimed himself to be an Indian citizen," Jamshed Shaikh, ACJM, Islampur, said in his order.

The court observed that the investigating officer's report on verification of documents submitted by Akhtar in support of his claim for Indian citizenship – such as name appearance in electoral rolls of consecutive SIR exercises, including in the SIR 2026 final rolls, Aadhar card and ration card -- were genuine.

"The materials presently available in the CD do not disclose that the aforesaid documents relied upon by the accused are forged or fabricated. On the contrary, the verification conducted by the investigating agency prima facie indicates the existence of the said records in the respective government databases," the court said.

The court, however, clarified that while considering the prayer for bail, it is not called upon to finally adjudicate upon the citizenship status of the accused.

"Whether the accused is an Indian citizen is a matter which has to be determined by the competent authority in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law. The observations made herein are, therefore, confined strictly to the consideration of the present bail application and shall not be construed as a final determination of the citizenship status of the accused," the order said.

Opposing the bail prayer, the assistant public prosecutor submitted that, considering the nature of the allegation and the issue involved, release of the accused poses a potential threat to the security and interests of the state and may also give rise to issues concerning national security.

Setting conditions for Akhtar's release on a bail bond of Rs 10,000, the court said, "The contention of the Ld. APP (learned assistant public prosecutor) that the accused has not produced any conclusive documents establishing his citizenship also cannot, by itself, be treated as a sufficient ground for indefinite detention."

Hailing the court order and Akhtar's subsequent release, TMC MP Samirul Islam questioned the police's inability to verify the documents submitted by the accused "before harassing him based on mere apprehension".

"It is so pathetic that a person who has been a true citizen for generations had to face unparalleled harassment only because of a vindictive attitude and suspicion of being a Bangladeshi national!" Islam wrote in a social media post.

"My question is: who will take responsibility for such inhumane treatment of a poor person? Will the higher authorities not take steps against those who are behind such torture and harassment of a poor fellow? Will those police officers not be punished for their wrongful actions?" Islam added.

The development comes in the aftermath of six West Bengal natives from Murarai in Birbhum district, including two women and three minors, who were deported to Bangladesh within a week of being picked up in Delhi in June last year as suspected illegal immigrants, and were brought back to India in phases on court orders.

While a pregnant Sonali Khatun and her eight-year-old son Sabir were repatriated in December, her husband Danish Sheikh alongside the family of Sweety Bibi and her two minor sons -- Kurban and Imam -- were brought back in July, 2026, more than a year after they were deported.