The people started arriving Sunday, around the time Bengal govt announced setting up of detention centres and cracking down on illegal immigrants.
Standing with her husband Musharraf Biswas and four children, Khukumoni Bibi (39) says it is “fear” which is causing them to try and leave for Bangladesh — fear of police, of detention centres, of demolitions.
She is among a crowd of about 300 men, women and children, with their belongings bundled in small bags, squatting on a small field under the sun, beside the BSF check-post at Hakimpur. It is about 90 km from Kolkata, and right next to the border with Bangladesh.
The people have been trooping here since Sunday, hearing that crossover into Bangladesh is possible from the Hakimpur border outpost. They have been arriving at all times, including in the wee hours. Nearby under the tin shade of a tea shop, police officials note down details of the people, including their names and addresses they give for Bangladesh, in a diary. Most don’t have valid papers for India, but have documents certifying them as Bangladeshi.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive over, state elections swept by the BJP, and the Suvendu Adhikari government having opened detention camps as part of his government’s “detect, delete and deport” policy, the people gathered in Hakimpur say staying back is not worth the risk. They entered Bengal “illegally”, they say, and now want to go back.