Since June, at least nine Muslim men and two children have been detained from their homes and sent to detention or holding centres in raids by West Bengal police, on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. Most of those detained are residents of Murshidabad district.
Families of the detained allege that several of the raids were carried out late at night. In many cases, they say, police did not show any arrest warrant, remand order or copy of an FIR. Family members further allege that, before being detained, the individuals concerned were not given an effective opportunity to present proof of their Indian citizenship.
Ibrahim Sheikh, 61, of Murshidabad, was taken from his home around 12:30am on July 29, his family says. According to the family, Ibrahim showed his Aadhaar and voter ID cards, but was taken away regardless and later sent to a detention centre. Since then, the family says, it has been difficult to get reliable information about his whereabouts.
Jalil Akhtar, 67, another resident, of Uttar Dinajpur district, was also taken while sleeping outside his home. His family claims Jalil is an Indian citizen and that his name appears on multiple electoral voter lists, including the 2026 voter list. Police, however, allege he is a Bangladeshi national.
There are also allegations that Abdul Jabbar was taken along with his two minor sons. His family says Abdul Jabbar holds various government documents, including an Indian passport and voter ID card. His wife was later hospitalised after suffering seizures.
Several of those detained had taken part in the recent electoral process. At least four of them had also completed verification under the Election Commission’s “Special Intensive Revision,” or SIR, of the voter list.
Human rights workers and lawyers have also raised concerns over the manner of the detentions. Zakir Hossain, a Murshidabad-based activist with the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights, alleges that some people are being held without being produced before a court. In at least one case, police attempted to send a detained person back to Bangladesh; when the individual claimed to be an Indian citizen, the Border Security Force (BSF) turned him back. Police later filed a case against him under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
Families are asking why people holding voter ID cards, passports, land documents and other government papers are not being given an effective legal opportunity before their citizenship is determined. They argue that if there is doubt over citizenship, it should be resolved through proper legal process.
Amid heightened surveillance in West Bengal over the identification and detention of alleged illegal immigrants, these incidents have renewed concern over how authorities are treating Bengali-speaking Muslims. Rights workers are demanding transparency on how many people are being held in detention centres, what their legal status is, and what process is being followed to determine citizenship.
These allegations and events are based on information published in an investigation by Scroll. West Bengal police’s response regarding the detention of each individual concerned needs to be sought separately and included in the reporting.