On 3rd June, Md Touhid Hossain, the foreign affairs adviser for Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus government, accused India of declaring “people” as foreigners and “pushing” them into his nation without following the proper procedure, according to a report in “The Times of India.” Hossain stated that Dhaka would send a diplomatic message to New Delhi over the matter.
India started deporting illegal Bangladeshis after a nationwide verification effort following the Pahalgam terror attack on 22nd April. The exercise has only accelerated since “Operation Sindoor” commenced in the wee hours of 7th May.
Hossain claimed that “India is resorting to cross-border push ins”, despite the fact that each case is evaluated separately by India during the deportation process and only verified citizens are subsequently returned. He added, “We will send a new, substantive letter. We see that push-ins are still happening, but it is not something we can physically stop.”
India has sent Bangladesh a list of people belonging to the neighbouring country. According to Hossain, some of them have been approved by Dhaka after examination. He said that Bangladesh is striving to make sure all activities follow the proper protocols and a formal structure is in place for handling consular concerns. He informed that Bangladesh and India continue to communicate on a daily basis.
Hossain conveyed that there has been no fresh reaction from the relevant parties about the pending extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A second letter has not yet been sent, although he indicated that it might be issued if needed.
After a countrywide verification exercise, the authorities are believed to have repatriated over 2,000 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh after “Operation Sindoor.” They added that during that time, an equal number of immigrants willingly crossed the border between India and Bangladesh as a result of the panic caused by the crackdown. The sources revealed that government action is majorly taking place in Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam along the Bangladesh border.
Approximately half of all individuals who have been sent back have come from Gujarat, which was one of the first states to start the round-up. The sources further disclosed that a significant number of immigrants have also been returned from Delhi and Haryana as well, with the remainder being rounded up from Assam, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, veteran Congress leader Kapil Sibal approached the Supreme Court in response to the Assam government’s efforts to send back illegal immigrants. On 2nd June, the Supreme Court issued notice on a habeas corpus petition against the Assam government’s alleged ‘illegal’ detention of a Bangladeshi woman named Monowara Bewa who was out on bail since 12th December 2019.
After hearing the petition of the Bangladeshi woman’s son, a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma issued notice to the respondents. In this case, senior advocate Kapil Sibal represented the petitioner and claimed that a Superintendent of Police ‘threw’ the Bangladeshi woman out of India flouting the court order, even as a civil appeal in challenging Guwahati High Court’s order, which upheld her declaration as a foreigner, is pending before the Supreme Court since 2017.
