NEW DELHI: Bengali-speaking Muslims in India say they are living in fear of detention and deportation amid an increasing police crackdown on “illegal immigrants” that have seen hundreds being unlawfully forced into Bangladesh, despite many being Indian citizens.
More than 1,500 Muslim men, women and children were expelled across the border between May 7 and June 15 without due process, according to a July report by Human Rights Watch, citing Bangladeshi authorities.
While crackdowns on alleged illegal immigrants from Muslim-majority Bangladesh are not new in India, the current wave followed a deadly attack in Jammu and Kashmir in April, where gunmen opened fire on visitors at a popular Himalayan tourist hotspot, killing 26 people and critically injuring many others.
As Delhi blamed the attack on “terrorists” from Pakistan, Indian states governed by officials from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have since rounded up thousands of Bengali Muslims, calling them suspected “illegal immigrants” and a potential security risk.
Khairul Islam, a 53-year-old Indian citizen and former schoolteacher from Assam state, told Arab News he was detained at his home by the police on May 24, and then forced into Bangladesh with 14 other people.
