India Accused of Forcibly Pushing Migrants into Bangladesh

Allegations of Illegal Pushbacks

• 🇧🇩 Sources within the Bangladesh government claim that India has illegally pushed over a thousand people into their country.
• 🚫 India has not directly responded to these allegations, though the governing BJP has a history of campaigning against illegal immigration from Bangladesh.

Personal Ordeals of Those Affected

• 🧑‍🏫 Islam, a 51-year-old Indian citizen and school teacher, alleges he was beaten and forced across the border despite protesting.
• 💔 Retita Khan expressed her distress after her husband was taken by police, fearing he would be wrongly labeled as Bangladeshi.
• 👨‍👧 Lalano is distraught over her 62-year-old son Abdul Latif, accused of being an illegal Bangladeshi in Assam, who has been missing and is suspected to have been pushed across the border.

Legal and Procedural Concerns

• ⚖️ Lawyers argue that these pushbacks are illegal as no deportation proceedings were followed, and many citizenship cases are still pending in higher courts.
• 🏛️ The Assam government has not responded to the BBC's inquiries regarding these allegations.

Harrowing Experiences and Return

• 🔫 Shaabanu, 58, recounts being pushed across the border at gunpoint and spending two days in harrowing conditions with no food or water, in knee-deep water with mosquitoes and leeches.
• ❓ Most individuals allegedly pushed into Bangladesh have reportedly returned, but uncertainty about their future remains.