Trinamool MP Samirul Islam appeals to a family that was pushed to Bangladesh

Trinamool MP Samirul Islam appeals to the family of Sweety Bibi who was forced out to Bangladesh a year ago. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam has appealed to the family of Sweety Bibi, who recently returned to her birthplace in Birbhum after a year-long legal battle, to return from Bangladesh.

Four Bengali migrants from Birbhum were detained by Delhi police last year and pushed to Bangladesh. After a legal battle, they were brought back to India on July 8, 2026. Mr. Islam took up the cause of the migrant workers and provided assistance to the family.

“Despite being genuine Indian citizens, these poor people were deported to Bangladesh on the suspicion that they are Bangladeshi nationals. We call on the central and state governments to take care of these families and ensure that no genuine Indian citizen faces such hardships due to administrative lapses,” the Trinamool MP said after meeting Sweety Bibi and her sons on Wednesday (July 2026).

Samirul Islam noted that he had no objection to the deportation of foreigners and said that at the same time these innocent people did not deserve such harassment. “We should remember that India or Bharat is our country; it is the motherland for all irrespective of their identity, caste, creed or religion. It is our duty to protect them like a mother protects her children,” he said.

The group of returnees included Sweety Bibi, her two minor sons and husband Sunali Khatun, who returned to India with her minor son in December 2025 after Supreme Court intervention. Mrs. Khatun was heavily pregnant at the time and gave birth to a baby boy in January 2026 in India.

The plight of the six migrants came to light when they released a video urging the then chief minister Mamata Banerjee to repatriate them from Bangladesh. Highlighting the plight of the two families, Mr. Islam approached the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court seeking their return from Bangladesh.

Between May and August 2025, hundreds of migrant workers from West Bengal were detained and their identities checked in Delhi and other BJP-ruled states in the north and west of the country. Some were forced into Bangladesh from the border and managed to return to India with the help of local authorities.

After coming to power in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party government made the deportation of illegal Bangladeshis a priority. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said about 10,000 Bangladeshi nationals have returned from the state and about 1,800 are being held in detention centers in the state.

Published – 16 Jul 2026 12:44 IST