West Bengal man detained in Bengaluru on suspicion of being undocumented Bangladeshi migrant

The Karnataka Police have detained a school bus driver in Bengaluru on the suspicion that he is an undocumented Bangladeshi migrant.

However, the driver, Rafikul Biswas, told Scroll that he was from West Bengal and that he has been living in Bengaluru for more than seven years with his wife and daughter. He said that the police are threatening to deport him to Bangladesh.

Biswas said that the police detained him on Thursday evening when he was returning home, adding that he was shifted to a detention centre on Saturday.

“There are three other people with me [at the detention centre],” he told Scroll. “They are from Bangladesh. I am the only one from West Bengal here. The police said that they will send me to Bangladesh. I have never been there in my life.”

The 31-year-old driver said that he had shown all his documents, including his passport, to the police.

“I worked in Saudi Arabia for two years, which is why I got a passport made,” he said. “I told the police I have land in West Bengal. I was born there. But they kept saying I am from Bangladesh and that they will send me there.”

Since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the police in several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party have been detaining Bengali-speaking persons – mostly Muslims – and asking them to prove that they are Indian citizens. Karnataka is governed by the Congress.

Several persons have been forced into Bangladesh after they allegedly could not prove their Indian citizenship. In some cases, persons who were mistakenly sent to Bangladesh returned to the country after state authorities in India proved that they were Indians.

Following his detention on Thursday, human rights activist R Kaleem Ullah, a member of the political party Swaraj Abhiyan who is helping Biswas’ family, submitted a complaint to the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission about the driver’s detention, alleging illegal detention and extortion.

Scroll has seen a copy of the complaint.

Ullah said that Biswas, who is from the Masjidpara area of Dhananjoypur in West Bengal’s Nadiya district, was “illegally detained” by the Bandepalya Police in Bengaluru on the “false pretext” that he is a Bangladeshi citizen.

The action was taken despite his wife producing Biswas’ voter ID and Aadhaar card, along with a clearance certificate from the police in Dhananjoypur, the activist said. He added that the authorities refused to accept the documents.

In his letter to the human rights panel, the complainant alleged that the police had also demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 for Biswas’ transportation expenses and Rs 5 lakh for his release.

“Upon his wife questioning the unlawful demand, the police sent him to a detention centre instead of releasing him, despite clear documentary proof of Indian citizenship,” Ullah said in the complaint. “This conduct amounts to serious violation of human rights, abuse of power, and extortion by police authorities.”

The complaint added: “Such actions not only bring disrepute to the law enforcement machinery but also cause irreparable mental, social and financial trauma to the victim and his family.”

The activist urged the State Human Rights Commission to take cognisance of the matter, order a fair and independent inquiry into the illegal detention and alleged extortion, and direct Biswas’ release.

Ullah told Scroll that West Bengal Police had shared Biswas’ identity documents with him.

“I spoke to the [Bengaluru] DCP [deputy commissioner of police] too but the police insist he is a Bangladeshi,” the activist said. “I will talk to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office today and try to get him released.”

Ullah said that the matter was among other cases of Bengali speakers being harassed in Bengaluru.

“We are seeing many such cases now,” he said. “This is because of hate politics which is spreading like a virus in the country.”