A pregnant domestic worker, Sunali Khatun, recounts her harrowing experience of being deported to Bangladesh despite possessing Indian identity documents. Detained during an identity verification drive, she and her family were allegedly pushed across the border, leading to months of hardship and fear. Her father’s legal intervention highlights the family’s desperate plea for justice. NEW DELHI: More than nine months pregnant now, and visibly exhausted, Sunali Khatun’s voice carried a strange mix of tired resolve and simmering anger when she spoke to TOI on Thursday. “I’m tired from inside. The worst part is that despite showing all documents, no one listened to us,” she said, fighting back tears.The 26-year-old domestic worker from Paikar village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district was detained during an identity verification drive in Delhi’s Rohini in late June this year. Sunali said she and her husband, Danish Sekh, immediately produced every document they had – Aadhaar, PAN and ration card. “I even quickly presented my in-laws’ ID proofs arranged over WhatsApp the same night.” Nothing worked.Why will we run away from own country: SunaliWe did everything in our power,” Sunali said. “We showed every single document. We kept telling them, ‘We are not Bangladeshi. We are Indian.’ Who will listen to people like us?”Within 48 hours, on June 26, after the Foreigners Regional Registration Office deportation order, police seized the couple’s belongings from their Rohini jhuggi and took them and their eight-year-old son, Sabir Sekh, to Guwahati. From there, she said, they were pushed across the Bangladesh border in hot haste.The deportation was sudden and unexpected for the couple and their families back in West Bengal. For the next five months, Sunali was trapped in a maze of suspicion. What followed, she says, “broke something inside her.”After filing a missing-person complaint at his local Palkar police station on 6 July 2025, Sunali’s father, Bhodu Sekh, moved the Calcutta HC three days later. On 9 July 2025, his habeas corpus petition seeking production of his daughter, son-in-law and grandson was registered.With no information from authorities & fearing his heavily pregnant daughter might be left to deliver without medical help in an unknown country, Bhodu filed pleading for urgent intervention. In his petition, he, too, said family had supplied Aadhaar, voter IDs, PAN cards and land records to show their Indian roots, yet authorities deported them.Back in Bangladesh, the time there for Sunali and her family were a blur of hunger, fear and humiliation. “We remained in hell. We didn’t even have Rs 5 to feed our children,” she said. “We had a single set of clothes, my yellow kurta and blue salwar. My son his red T-shirt and black half-pants. For food & shelter, there was the mercy of strangers.”When they initially attempted to return a few days after entering Bangladesh, she says the Indian side beat them brutally despite their pleas. “We were profiled simply because we were Bengali-speaking Muslims.”When produced before a Bangladeshi court, Sunali says she expected questions about who they were, how they crossed, why they were there. But it was over in minutes. “They didn’t ask us anything, just put us in jail,” she said. “Humne sirf bola hum Bharat ke hain. Documents hote hue koi kyun bhejega? Wo log bhi hairaan thhe. (We only said in court there that we are from India. Why will we run away from our own country when we possess valid papers. They, too, were surprised).” Sunali described the months in the jail as “mental torture”. Though she is home for now, Sunali says her heart is heavy with fear & foreboding. “Are there any other documents we can get? What if we are shoved out again? I can’t sleep thinking about that.”About the AuthorIsmat AraAt The Times of India, Ismat Ara covers politics, people, and societies, with a focus on accountability, justice, and lived experience. Shaped by years of rigorous reporting across cities, small towns, and remote villages, she is drawn to the human stories tucked beneath policy and paperwork.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosJinnah To Nehru: Top Moments From Heated Vande Mataram Debate In Parliament Winter Session22 Feared Dead As Truck Falls Into Gorge In Arunachal Pradesh’Warm And Engaging’: PM Modi Holds Phone Call With Trump Amid Trade Talks, US-India Ties Discussed’If They’re Happy, They Should Sign’: Goyal Responds To USTR’s ‘Best Offer Ever From India’ RemarkHow Bangladesh’s Feb 12 Vote Could Reshape India’s Northeast Access And Regional Power BalanceBJP Charges TMC MP of Smoking Inside Parliament After Giriraj-Sougata Face-off Over E-CigaretteExplained: Did Mexico Follow Trump’s Footsteps To Slap Tariff on India? Impact on Indian TradersKharge Hits Back As JP Nadda Slams Nehru, Congress Over Vande Mataram In Rajya SabhaSouth Asian Bloc Minus India? 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NEW DELHI: More than nine months pregnant now, and visibly exhausted, Sunali Khatun’s voice carried a strange mix of tired resolve and simmering anger when she spoke to TOI on Thursday. “I’m tired from inside. The worst part is that despite showing all documents, no one listened to us,” she said, fighting back tears.The 26-year-old domestic worker from Paikar village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district was detained during an identity verification drive in Delhi’s Rohini in late June this year. Sunali said she and her husband, Danish Sekh, immediately produced every document they had – Aadhaar, PAN and ration card. “I even quickly presented my in-laws’ ID proofs arranged over WhatsApp the same night.” Nothing worked.
Why will we run away from own country: Sunali
We did everything in our power,” Sunali said. “We showed every single document. We kept telling them, ‘We are not Bangladeshi. We are Indian.’ Who will listen to people like us?”Within 48 hours, on June 26, after the Foreigners Regional Registration Office deportation order, police seized the couple’s belongings from their Rohini jhuggi and took them and their eight-year-old son, Sabir Sekh, to Guwahati. From there, she said, they were pushed across the Bangladesh border in hot haste.The deportation was sudden and unexpected for the couple and their families back in West Bengal. For the next five months, Sunali was trapped in a maze of suspicion. What followed, she says, “broke something inside her.”After filing a missing-person complaint at his local Palkar police station on 6 July 2025, Sunali’s father, Bhodu Sekh, moved the Calcutta HC three days later. On 9 July 2025, his habeas corpus petition seeking production of his daughter, son-in-law and grandson was registered.With no information from authorities & fearing his heavily pregnant daughter might be left to deliver without medical help in an unknown country, Bhodu filed pleading for urgent intervention. In his petition, he, too, said family had supplied Aadhaar, voter IDs, PAN cards and land records to show their Indian roots, yet authorities deported them.Back in Bangladesh, the time there for Sunali and her family were a blur of hunger, fear and humiliation. “We remained in hell. We didn’t even have Rs 5 to feed our children,” she said. “We had a single set of clothes, my yellow kurta and blue salwar. My son his red T-shirt and black half-pants. For food & shelter, there was the mercy of strangers.”When they initially attempted to return a few days after entering Bangladesh, she says the Indian side beat them brutally despite their pleas. “We were profiled simply because we were Bengali-speaking Muslims.”When produced before a Bangladeshi court, Sunali says she expected questions about who they were, how they crossed, why they were there. But it was over in minutes. “They didn’t ask us anything, just put us in jail,” she said. “Humne sirf bola hum Bharat ke hain. Documents hote hue koi kyun bhejega? Wo log bhi hairaan thhe. (We only said in court there that we are from India. Why will we run away from our own country when we possess valid papers. They, too, were surprised).” Sunali described the months in the jail as “mental torture”. Though she is home for now, Sunali says her heart is heavy with fear & foreboding. “Are there any other documents we can get? What if we are shoved out again? I can’t sleep thinking about that.”
