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Kolkata: Days after the Mumbai Police detained Sahida Fakir, branding her as a Bangladeshi, her husband, Jumman Fakir, received a call from her, claiming she had been sent to Bangladesh.

On the evening of July 19, 40-year-old Sahida was picked up by the police while on her way to a nearby market in Mumbai. She had left her 10-year-old son at home to buy food. Her husband later got a call from the authorities claiming Sahida was detained on “suspicion of being an illegal immigrant”.

Junman immediately went to the police station, where Sahida reportedly told him that the police officers forcibly dragged her to a building where individuals accused of being “illegal immigrants” were being held. “They took away the food she had bought, her phone and Aadhaar card,” Junman told Scroll.in. He alleged that his wife was detained because she was a Bengali.

Junman, over the next few days, took documents that could help prove Sahida was an Indian resident. Birth certificate, land ownership documents, school certificates, voter ID, Aadhaar— the authorities rejected every document.

“The police said that was not enough. They asked for the birth certificates of Sahida’s parents. But in their time, no one got birth certificates,” he said.

On July 23, Junman was informed that Sahida was sent to Bangladesh. “I told them they had made a great mistake. She is an Indian. Where will she go? How will she fend for herself? “Junman said.

Days went by without any information on Sahida. Later, she called him from Bangladesh, saying she was living with a family in Sathkira.

Junman has vowed to deal with the matter legally and get her back. “She has all the documents. She is an Indian,” he said. “But she was branded as Bangladeshi and sent to Bangladesh. I am unable to accept that. Why did they do it? I will fight it legally.”

Sahida’s ancestral village residents request officials to bring her back

In West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, residents of Sahida’s ancestral village, Gobindapur, have collectively written to the district magistrate, pleading to bring Sahida back from Bangladesh.

“Sahida Fakir is a permanent resident of our very own village. Not only her, but we have known her entire family for generations,” they said.

The residents wrote that Sahida’s grandfather, Badshah Gazi, was a ‘permanent resident’ of the village. His son, Aminuddin Gazi, married a woman from the neighbouring village of Swarupdaha and relocated there. Sahida was born in 1988 in that village, which lies just across a river from Bangladesh.

Sahida went on to marry a Junman, a Gobindapur resident, and moved to Mumbai in search of a job. She found work as a domestic worker, and her husband earned a living by cleaning vehicles. They have two sons, aged 22 and 10.

“In front of our eyes, she has grown up, gotten married, and taken up domestic life,” the letter to the district magistrate read, according to Scroll.in.

Husband alleges Sahida branded as Bangladeshi without investigation

Sahida’s husband said the authorities ignored all the documents, including her father’s death certificate, and branded her as a Bangladeshi without any notice, investigation, or a court order.

Sahida’s parents’ names are included in the 2002 voter list, and after Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Sahida was marked as “under adjudication”.

Junman said he got a call from Bangladesh on July 27, when he was able to speak to Sahida. “A Bangladeshi family in the Sonabaria area in the Satkhira district gave her refuge,” he said.

However, the family is now facing pressure from their government after reports of Sahida’s presence began circulating. “For the last 10 days, the Bangladeshi police and officials of the Border Guard Bangladesh have been guarding their home,” said Junman.

According to Sahida’s husband, the Bangladeshi authorities are in touch with him and repeatedly call him to take her back. “They said there is pressure from the top.”

The village where Sahida found shelter sits across the border from her birthplace, Swarupdaha.

Junman said he is aware that he can bring his wife back from Bangladesh with the help of residents on each side. However, he has chosen to do it legally.

“She is just across the river. But we will bring her back legally. The police have to be held accountable for why they sent my wife to Bangladesh illegally.”