A pregnant Muslim woman from West Bengal, Sunali Khatun, who was allegedly branded an illegal immigrant and pushed into Bangladesh, has given birth to a healthy baby boy at Rampurhat Medical College in Birbhum district after returning to India. The delivery took place at a time when her husband and two children remain stranded in Bangladesh.
Sunali Khatun’s case drew national attention after the Delhi Police detained her and others and subsequently pushed them across the India–Bangladesh border. Her return to India became possible only after the intervention of the Supreme Court and the Union government’s consent on “humanitarian grounds.”
Reacting to the development, senior Trinamool Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee said that while the birth of the child was a moment of joy, it remained overshadowed by the grave injustice inflicted upon Sunali.
“I am deeply pleased to learn that Sunali Khatun has given birth to a healthy baby boy at Rampurhat Medical College. However, given the inhuman injustice she was forced to endure, this moment of happiness feels even more profound,” Banerjee said.
Banerjee alleged that Sunali Khatun was “wrongly labelled as a Bangladeshi and forcibly deported,” calling the incident a shocking abuse of power by the Delhi Police and the Union government. He said that such treatment of a pregnant woman amounted to a blatant violation of human dignity and fundamental human rights.
Describing Sunali’s return and childbirth as “a triumph of humanity,” Banerjee announced that he would visit Rampurhat Medical College on Saturday to meet Sunali and convey his best wishes to her and the newborn.
Twenty-five-year-old Sunali Khatun returned to India on December 6 along with her eight-year-old son through the Mahadipur border outpost in Malda district. Her return followed a flag meeting between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB).
It is noteworthy that on June 26, the Delhi Police detained Sunali Khatun, her husband Danish Sheikh, their son, and another woman from Birbhum district, Sweety Bibi (32), along with her two children, from a colony in the national capital. After being held in detention for nearly a week, all of them were pushed across the India–Bangladesh border.
The West Bengal government has maintained that all those deported are Indian citizens and were wrongly expelled as part of an alleged targeting of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states. However, the Union government has continued to contest the citizenship of Sunali’s husband Danish Sheikh, Sweety Bibi, and her children.
At present, Danish Sheikh, Sweety Bibi, and her two children remain in Bangladesh, with uncertainty looming over their future.
According to data compiled by the Calcutta Research Group and Know Your Neighbour, at least 30 people from West Bengal have been arbitrarily pushed into Bangladesh. Many of them were later brought back after the state government intervened and verified their documents.
The case goes beyond the personal ordeal of a single woman, raising serious questions about citizenship, human rights, and state accountability.
