Family Returns to India After Year-Long Ordeal Following Deportation to Bangladesh
On Wednesday, Sweety Bibi (33) and her two children, Qurban (6) and Imran (12), crossed into India through the Malda border, ending a year-long wait. They had been stranded in Bangladesh after being detained in Delhi and deported across the border.
On Tuesday evening, the Bangladesh Border Guard handed over Sweety, her children, and Danish Sheikh—another individual deported to Bangladesh—to the Border Security Force. After medical checks, they were handed over to the West Bengal Police and began their journey home to Birbhum.
“I am so happy that finally I am back. Thanks to the highest court of the country. I will not return to Delhi. I have to rebuild my life and that of my children. They lost a year of education and now, I have to find a new school for them,” Sweety told The Indian Express. “I had lost hope for myself and my children, now I have hope again.”
On May 22, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul Pancholi that the Centre would bring the family back and examine their status. The court was hearing the Centre’s petition challenging the Calcutta High Court’s direction to repatriate them.
On June 18, 2023, two families from Birbhum—Sweety Bibi and her two sons from Dhitora village, and Sunali Khatun, her husband Danish Sheikh, and their eight-year-old son from Paikar village—were picked up by Delhi Police on suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. They were later deported by the Border Security Force.
After spending weeks near the border and on the streets of Dhaka, they were arrested on August 21, 2023, in Chapainawabganj under Bangladesh’s Passport and Foreigners Acts and jailed. “We were detained in Delhi and then pushed out through the Assam border. We spent time in the bushes at the border and abortively tried to return. We spent days on the streets of Dhaka and then went to a relative’s house in Chapainawabganj from where we were arrested and jailed. After getting bail, we were given shelter by Faruk Hussain and his wife,” Sweety said.
Sunali Khatun, who was pregnant, returned to India on December 5, 2023, following a Supreme Court order. Sweety, her children, and Danish remained in Bangladesh. “I am physically and mentally sick. I have a baby girl at home whom I have not met for a year. I am yearning to meet her,” Sweety added.
Danish, who also returned on Tuesday, said, “My wife and children returned after the Supreme Court’s order. But I was left in Bangladesh. Now I will meet my family and see the face of my daughter who was born after my wife returned.”
Faruk Hussain, who sheltered Sweety and her family in Chapainawabganj, said, “The Bangladesh court gave us their responsibility. They were broken. Today is a happy day for all of us.”
Sweety’s brother Amir Khan said from Birbhum, “Finally, she will be home. We are grateful to everyone who helped. Her 10-year-old son is waiting for her. Our family will be reunited.”
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam wrote on X, “The long-awaited dream of poor illegal deportees of Birbhum has finally come true. After a legal battle that lasted for more than a year, today marked the return of Sweety Bibi, her two minor sons, and Sunali Khatun’s husband to their mother land after they were allegedly illegally deported to Bangladesh. … I salute the Indian judiciary.”
Mofizul Islam, a Birbhum-based social worker, said, “We tried to help both Sunali and Sweety, among others. While Sonali was returned, Sweety had to stay back in Bangladesh. We did what we could to help them. Now we are happy. The Supreme Court has given us justice.”
