MALDA/KOLKATA: Birbhum resident Danish Sheikh and three others from his village – a mother and her two sons – crossed back into India through the Mahadipur border in Bengal’s Malda Wednesday, ending a 13-month ordeal that began when Delhi Police deported them as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants without a tribunal hearing.Waiting for Danish at home in Paikar village was a sevenmonth-old son he had never held. His wife Sunali Khatun, who was pregnant when they were held in Delhi in June 2025 and pushed into Bangladesh via the Assam border, returned to India last Dec with her elder son Sabir after Supreme Court intervened.Sunali cooked a welcome meal of rice, shak (leafy greens) and fish-egg fritters for her husband as she awaited the completion of border formalities. With Danish were Sweety Bibi and her two sons, Qurban (16) and Imam (6).Like thousands of impoverished migrants, the group was in Delhi working as ragpickers when police accosted them and branded them Bangladeshis, allegedly refusing to acknowledge their identity documents. Bangladeshi authorities later arrested the group for illegal entry, keeping them in jail for 100 days. Even after they were freed, the group remained stranded as efforts to repatriate them dragged on.“I haven’t seen my newborn son yet. It will be a moment of pure joy to hold him in my arms after all these months. Khub valo lagche (I feel wonderful),” Danish said at the border, moments before the drive to Birbhum. He vows never to set foot in Delhi.
