Hasina, a resident of Kalaroa in Satkhira, Bangladesh, entered India two and a half years ago by paying a broker. Since then, she has been living with her two children in a rented house near the railway line in Bamangachi, North 24 Parganas. With the ongoing SIR drive in West Bengal, she is now desperate to return home and has received information that surrendering at the border camp could allow her to go back via the Hakimpur route.
Widowed and struggling to support her children due to a lack of work in Bangladesh, Hasina says she crossed into Bengal through a broker and has stayed without documents ever since. “I have been here for two and a half years. I won’t lie, I don’t have any documents. I came through a broker. I live alone here. I have two children, no husband. I couldn’t manage the household by working there. That’s why I came,” she said.
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Reports suggest several others like Hasina had been living in rented houses along the railway line. But since the SIR initiative began, many such families have disappeared, and the number of people returning to Bangladesh has increased. Several individuals have already been sent back through the Hakimpur and Tarali borders in Swarupnagar.
According to sources, these migrants not only entered India illegally but also obtained forged identity documents, voted, and availed government benefits. With SIR underway, many now fear being sent to detention camps if caught later. Hasina says she plans to surrender at the border camp and hopes to be deported to Bangladesh from there.
