In a controversial incident, Odisha police detained 12 members of a family from Garapur village in Kendrapara district on November 27, suspecting them of being Bangladeshi nationals.
The raid targeted a Muslim-majority village during what was described as a “survey” to identify illegal immigrants.
While nine detainees, including Mukhtar Khan, were released after nine days, three elderly relatives—Muntaz Khan (65), his uncle Insaan Khan (59), and aunt Ameena Bibi (70)—vanished from custody.
Mukhtar later learned from authorities that they had been deported to Bangladesh, a fact confirmed by Kendrapara Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kataria on January 14.
Kataria claimed the trio “confessed” to being Bangladeshis during interrogation and were handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) per Union Home Ministry guidelines from May 2. These rules require giving suspects 30 days to prove citizenship and verifying claims with their home state.
Odisha police said they contacted West Bengal authorities in Purba Medinipur, who allegedly failed to confirm the family’s Indian citizenship.
However, Purba Medinipur SP Mitun Kumar Dey strongly denied any such contact: “I completely rule out the claim of Odisha police. There is no official email or message.”
The police justified the deportation by alleging the family’s patriarch, Yasin Khan, migrated from Bangladesh in the 1970s–80s. Yet family documents, including a 1956 land record seen by Scroll, show Yasin owned property in Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district as a cultivator.
Village chief Sheikh Aynul Islam and neighbour Sheikh Reyazuddin, who knew Muntaz for over 50 years, insisted the family migrated from Bengal six decades ago and has deep roots in Garapur.
Mukhtar presented voter lists (2002), land records (2009), Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and even Yasin’s 1993 voter card issued in Kendrapara.
His mother’s letter to the SP highlighted benefits received, like an Indira Awas Yojana house post-1999 cyclone. All evidence was dismissed.
This marks at least the second such expulsion of Bengali Muslim families from Odisha, following a December case involving 14 people, including a 90-year-old woman. Critics argue these actions in BJP-ruled states violate central guidelines by denying due process.
The family remains distraught, worried about the elderly trio’s fate in Bangladesh. “We have to go to court,” Mukhtar said, “but we don’t know who will help us.” With limited resources, they face an uphill battle to seek justice and reunion.
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