They have set up a Mini-Bangladesh within India where they live without fear. There is no rush to return home. Many Bangladeshi families are allegedly living in Basirhat town of North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, which is adjacent to the Bangladesh border. They live fearlessly and do not intend to return despite ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. They have allegedly fraudulently acquired Indian identity cards including Indian Aadhaar and voter cards. They are also enjoying government scheme benefits and other facilities.

Since the launch of SIR in West Bengal on November 4, Bangladeshi infiltrators have been flocking the India-Bangladesh border to flee. Hundreds of Bangladeshis living in this country illegally are desperate to return to their country due to fear of SIR. That is why the Hakimpur border in Swarupnagar has been overflowing with Bangladeshis almost every day. There, they are gathering in front of the BSF check post with luggage. But despite all this, a different picture has emerged from Basirhat in North 24 Parganas, which is adjacent to the border.

There are allegations that a good number of Bangladeshi nationals are still residing peacefully in many areas of Basirhat along the border. But why are they still not going back to their own country? Are Bangladeshi families living in Basirhat planning to reside permanently in India?

The case of Nurul Islam Sheikh and his family

Allegedly, many Bangladeshi families are still living in the Biramnagar area of ​​Sangrampur-Shibati gram panchayat. One of them is Nurul Islam Sheikh. All five members of his family are allegedly Bangladeshi citizens. However, this 62-year-old man has bought land and built a house here and settled with his family. Allegedly, Nurul Islam has no intention of return to Bangladesh despite SIR being launched. Instead, he is trying to find a way to stay in India permanently.

According to local sources, Nurul Islam, his wife Fazila Bibi and son Nuruzzaman Sheikh entered this country from Bangladesh illegally about a decade ago. Then, they bought land in the Biramnagar area of ​​West Bengal’s Basirhat and started living permanently. They also got their son married to an Indian woman. Allegedly, the family acquired Indian identity cards by using the documents of their daughter-in-law. The father and son drive e-rickshaw as their only means of livelihood.

In West Bengal, the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of the voter list has already begun. As a result, Bangladeshis living in this country have started fleeing to their country in fear. But Nurul Islam is not bothered by any of that. On the contrary, he is happily living in West Bengalwith his wife, son, daughter-in-law. He even drives around the locality in his e-rickshaw.

However, Nurul Islam is not willing to call himself a Bangladeshi. In his words, “My name is not there in the 2002 revised voter list. There are 34 other residents like me who are not on that list. I cannot say why my name is not there. But being a resident of the state, I have been casting my vote in West Bengal for many years. None of my family members have come from Bangladesh. We are natives of Basirhat and I also have the land registration documents of 2001.”

The veteran also claimed that there are no Bangladeshis living in Basirhat’s Biramnagar area. The same tone was echoed by Nurul Islam’s wife Fazila Bibi. In her words, “I don’t remember how many times I have voted. I have been here for many years. This much I can say is that we are permanent residents of India.”

Administration turns blind eye

Allegedly, the administration has turned a blind eye to this. No initiative has been taken against the Bangladeshi families living in this country illegally.

Meanwhile, the ruling party and the opposition saffron camp are aware of the situation. They also admit that many Bangladeshis are still scattered in the border area of ​​North 24 Parganas. However, instead of taking any action, Trinamool and BJP are busy blaming each other.

Local BJP leader Abdur Rouf Sardar admits that Nurul Islam and his family are actually citizens of Bangladesh. He said, “Even though many Bangladeshis have left the Biramnagar area after the SIR began, Nurul Islam Sheikh’s family still remains. Five of his family members are Bangladeshi citizens. They came to this country from Bangladesh 10 years ago. However, there are still many Bangladeshis scattered in the Basirhat South assembly constituency including Sangrampur and Shibati areas. All of them have fraudulently entered their names in the Indian voter list. Therefore, I will alert the booth BLOs so that these Bangladeshi nationals are not able to fill up the enumeration form in any way. We want the administration to take action against all these Bangladeshis.”

Sameer Kumar Halder, BDO of Basirhat Block No. 1, said, “I am not aware of any Bangladeshis living in the Biramnagar area of ​​Sangrampur-Shibati Panchayat. We will have to look into it. If something like this has happened, then necessary steps will definitely be taken.”

BSF scanning details of Bangladeshis fleeing India amid SIR

On the other hand, the Border Security Force (BSF) is thoroughly checking all the information of the Bangladeshis who have gathered at the Hakimpur border in Swarupnagar in the last few days to return to their country. According to BSF sources, after preparing the list of Bangladeshi citizens, their biometric samples and identity cards are being verified on the one hand. On the other hand, central intelligence agencies are also checking whether any of these Bangladeshis have any criminal charges against them.

Bangladeshi citizens are being given permission to cross the border only after getting the green signal from BSF and BGB (Bangladesh Border Guard). According to BSF sources, about 3,000 Bangladeshis have returned to the country through the Hakimpur border in Swarupnagar in the last few days. Thousands of Bangladeshis are still gathered near the BSF check post.

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