Guwahati: The family of Khairul Islam, a 51-year-old former government school teacher whose citizenship case is pending before the Supreme Court, alleged that security forces “picked up” Islam from his home in Morigaon district, Assam, and “pushed” him into Bangladesh.
According to sources, the family reportedly learned of Islam’s alleged expulsion on May 27 through a social media video purportedly showing him in Bangladesh’s Kurigram district, near the Boraibari border.
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Islam’s wife, Rita Khanam, and daughter, Afreen, have confirmed his identity in the video.
His lawyer, Avijit Roy, stated that a Foreigners Tribunal declared Islam a “foreigner” in 2016, and the Supreme Court is currently hearing his appeal against that order.
The BSF, in a statement on Tuesday, claimed to have “thwarted an infiltration attempt by a large group of Bangladeshi nationals” in the early hours of May 27.
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Meanwhile, the alleged “pushback” of Islam has ignited a political storm.
On Wednesday, an 11-member delegation of AIUDF leaders submitted a memorandum to Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, protesting against “inhuman treatment through pushbacks.”
Mankachar MLA Aminul Islam, part of the delegation, specifically highlighted the alleged “deportation” of 14 people, including Khairul Islam, across the border from his constituency.
He further stressed Islam’s case, stating, “One of them is Khairul Islam, whose review petition is pending, and the matter is sub judice.
Sources indicate that in the video, Islam reportedly identifies himself as a primary school teacher from Khanda Pukhuri village in Morigaon.
He alleges that on May 23, police took him from his home to the Matia transit camp – a dedicated detention center for “illegal foreigners” in Assam.
He further claims that on Monday, authorities placed him on a bus with tied hands, and “at around 4 am this morning, they pushed 14 of us across the border to here.”
Notably, local police in Morigaon district detained Islam on May 23, along with eight other individuals, all of whom the Foreigners Tribunals had declared foreigners.
Sources added that the alleged “pushback” of Khairul Islam coincides with heightened tensions along the Indo-Bangladesh Border in Assam’s Mankachar and Bangladesh’s Kurigram district, involving the BSF and the Border Guard Bangladesh.
This incident further complicates the already sensitive issue of citizenship and border management in Assam.