'Didn’t think I'd make it back': Assam man returns home after being pushed into Bangladesh

Khairul Islam, a 51-year-old former school teacher from Assam's Morigaon district, has returned home in time to celebrate Eid with his family, just two weeks after being allegedly pushed into Bangladesh by Indian security forces despite having an active case in the Supreme Court.

In a report published by The Indian Express, Islam recounted the ordeal that began on 23 May when he was picked up from his home and taken to the Matia transit camp — a detention facility for declared foreigners in Assam — before being forcibly taken to the India-Bangladesh border and pushed across along with 13 others.

"There are no words for the thoughts that were going through my head during those two days that I was in Bangladesh. I was fearful, I was not sure if I would ever be able to come back to my family," he told The Indian Express.

Islam had been declared a foreigner by a Foreigners Tribunal in 2016. However, the Supreme Court granted his special leave petition against that order in December 2024. Despite this, he was among those caught in the state's ongoing crackdown on declared foreigners.

On 27 May, a video of Islam surfaced online, showing him in a paddy field in Bangladesh's Kurigram district, stating that he was taken from his home, detained, tied up, and transported to the border before being left at the zero line.

"After the security forces took us to the border and pushed us into Bangladesh, there was nowhere for us to go," Islam said. 

"The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) also pushed us away and sent us back to the zero line or the no-man's land. That was where we were the whole day, under the sun in the paddy field. I was with 13 other people. When the media there wanted us to speak, I had to speak about our plight because the rest were unable to speak with clarity."

He said the BGB later took them to their camp and provided food. 

"I remember it was egg and dal. The next morning, we were taken to another camp and we spent the rest of the day there until, in the evening, seven of us were handed over back to the BSF," he added.

Islam's wife, who had seen the video of him stranded at the border, immediately contacted the local police authorities. 

"My wife had seen the video of me stuck in no-man's land. At the same time, the CM also said that people with cases in the High Court and Supreme Court can't be picked up. Because I have my Supreme Court case, she made an appeal to the border branch of the Superintendent of Police's office, and they assured her that they will try to bring me back in a few days. So that's how I was brought back to Assam, and I came back to my home on Thursday night," he said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma later confirmed to the media that the state was pushing back declared foreigners under a Supreme Court directive from February, but added that "those with appeals pending before the Gauhati High Court or the Supreme Court are not being troubled."

Islam, who had earlier spent two years in Tezpur Central Jail after the Gauhati High Court upheld the tribunal verdict in 2018, remains hopeful. 

"I have complete hope that I will be given justice by the Supreme Court when the time comes. For now, I am glad that I am with my family today," he said.