Guwahati: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has urged the Centre to intervene in the cases of two women from Assam’s Nagaon district who were sent to Bangladesh in June and whose whereabouts remain unknown to their families.
In a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Gogoi sought the Ministry of External Affairs’ intervention with Bangladeshi authorities to trace Jahanara Begum of Bagariguri and Mumtaz Begum of Dhing Gaon and facilitate their return to India.
According to Gogoi, the two women were sent across the India-Bangladesh border during the intervening night of June 13 and 14, 2026, despite both cases being under consideration before the Gauhati High Court.
The women had earlier been declared foreigners by the Nagaon Foreigners Tribunal in 2019. They subsequently challenged the tribunal’s decisions before the Gauhati High Court.
In April 2026, the High Court set aside the earlier tribunal opinions and directed fresh consideration of the cases after finding that relevant material had not been properly considered.
Following the court’s directions, Jahanara appeared before the Foreigners Tribunal on May 29, while Mumtaz appeared on May 30. Both were subsequently taken into custody.
Gogoi has alleged that their detention and subsequent expulsion prevented them from obtaining copies of the fresh tribunal orders and pursuing further legal remedies before the High Court.
The circumstances surrounding their expulsion were later examined by the Gauhati High Court in separate proceedings on September 3.
In Mumtaz Begum’s case, the court criticised the handling of the proceedings by the Foreigners Tribunal. The court found that the tribunal office had “deliberately and wilfully delayed” providing a certified copy of its opinion and observed that the element of “malice in law” was apparent from the record.
The court also examined the circumstances in which Mumtaz was taken into custody and subsequently sent to Bangladesh. According to the BSF affidavit cited in the judgment, she was handed over to the BSF on June 13 and sent back to Bangladesh through the Kalaincherra area of Cachar in the early hours of June 14.
A similar order concerning Jahanara Begum recorded that she was handed over to the BSF on June 13 and sent back to Bangladesh during the intervening night of June 13 and 14.
The High Court subsequently impleaded the Ministry of External Affairs in the proceedings to facilitate efforts to trace the two women and secure their repatriation.
In the case concerning Mumtaz, the court also directed the Assam government to pay Rs 2 lakh as interim compensation to her husband, observing that she had been expelled without being provided information that would have enabled her to challenge the tribunal’s decision. The court further issued safeguards concerning the supply of tribunal opinions to people declared foreigners before their detention.
Gogoi has now asked the External Affairs Ministry to take up the matter with the Bangladesh government and direct the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and the Assistant High Commission in Sylhet to pursue the cases with Bangladeshi authorities.
He has also sought consular assistance, travel documents if required for their return, and a designated point of contact through whom the families can receive updates on the women’s whereabouts.
Gogoi said the families had been waiting for information about the two women since their expulsion.
“People should not simply disappear after being taken into State custody and pushed across an international border,” the Congress MP said, calling for immediate efforts to trace the women and facilitate their return to India.