2 women from Assam pushed into no-man’s land at Bangladesh border return home

Two women from Assam, reportedly pushed into the no-man’s land at the India-Bangladesh border by security forces, have returned home, their families confirmed.

Shona Bhanu, 59, from Barpeta district, returned on Saturday night, while Rahima Begum, 50, from Golaghat district, came back on Friday. Both women, of Bengali-origin Muslim background, had been summoned by police amid an ongoing drive against those declared foreigners by foreigners’ tribunals.

Shona Bhanu was among 14 people allegedly pushed into no-man’s land on May 27 after being summoned to a police transit camp. Declared a foreigner by the tribunal in 2013—a verdict upheld by the Gauhati High Court in 2016—her case was stayed by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Rahima Begum was picked up from her residence on May 25 and taken to the Matia detention centre. She claims she was pushed across the border with Bangladeshi currency but was intercepted by Bangladeshi border police and villagers, who directed her to return to India. Rahima spent a day in no-man’s land before being called back by security forces and reunited with her family.

Her lawyer noted that the Jorhat Foreigners’ Tribunal ruled in her favor last month.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed the government’s policy of deporting declared foreigners to Bangladesh following a Supreme Court order. He stated that 49 people were pushed back in late May and highlighted that 30,000 declared foreigners have “disappeared” over the years, prompting intensified efforts to identify and deport such individuals.

The opposition AIUDF has protested to the Assam Governor against what it terms the harassment of Indian Muslims under the pretext of rooting out illegal foreigners. Meanwhile, the Gauhati High Court has issued notices related to alleged arbitrary detentions in the ongoing foreigner identification drive.

Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia has also written to the External Affairs Minister expressing concern over the reported forced pushbacks.

No official response has been received yet from police or Border Security Force officials regarding these incidents.