KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday pulled up Bengal govt for detaining a Murshidabad resident for more than a month without providing him any reason why he was suspected of being a Bangladeshi.“In 1970s and ’80s, thousands of people crossed the border. Now what will you do? Will you initiate proceedings against everybody in this fashion, violating human rights?” Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya asked the state’s counsel.Sahidul Sheikh, a resident of Dubapara village, was picked up by Raninagar police on Aug 8 and has since been in the custody of the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO).The court ordered the state to hand over Sahidul’s ‘detention/arrest memo’ to his counsel by Saturday and directed Raninagar Police Station officer in charge to file an affidavit within a fortnight stating the basis of his detention. The Murshidabad SP, who also serves as FRRO, was directed to file a report within 10 days disclosing steps taken by the state. The case will be heard again on Oct 8.Sahidul’s wife, Dejina Bibi, had moved Calcutta High Court alleging that her husband was illegally detained by police for being a Bangladeshi. Their counsel told the court that Sahidul is an Indian citizen and his name was verified and listed in SIR 2026. He has a valid voter card, PAN card and Aadhaar card.“If I am a Bangladeshi national, there’s the Foreigners Act. If I am being detained for some reason, I have to be given a memo of detention. But nothing has been given. How was it presumed that I am a Bangladeshi?” counsel Robiul Islam argued, adding that the couple have a daughter who is taking her HS exam this year.The state’s counsel, Raj Mohan Chattoraj, submitted that Sahidul had admitted to being a Bangladeshi who entered India several years ago, claimed to be the son of a deceased local resident, acquired “genuine-looking” Indian documents and surreptitiously got included in SIR 2026, which is being investigated.Justice Bhattacharyya pointed out it was unclear whether Sahidul had admitted these before cops or the FRRO. “How long will this verification process continue? It has not been detected when he crossed the border. Many people crossed it in the 70s. How can this person be detained for such a long time?” the judge asked.Justice Bhattacharyya also queried on what basis Sahidul’s credentials were deemed invalid. On the alleged fraudulent inclusion in SIR, the judge said, “Then, you need to initiate proceedings against the officer… A person has been detained from Aug 8 and we are in mid-Sept, and a document cannot be handed over?…Will the person be detained without being given any reason?”The state’s counsel submitted that Sahidul was picked up based on inputs from FRRO. “Raninagar police station is not going around picking up people. The memo describes how it is done. Bengal police officers are not going around randomly picking people up. It doesn’t happen like that,” he said. He also opposed handing over the memo to Sahidul’s counsel citing the Official Secrets Act, but his objection was overruled by Justice Bhattacharyya.
