In Bengal's Birbhum district, a tale of two homes unfolded this weekend. One household celebrated the return of a loved one, while another was plunged deeper into despair, waiting for a reunion that remains agonizingly out of reach.
A Bittersweet Homecoming in Paikar Village
On Saturday, Sunali Khatun finally stepped back into her mud-walled home in Paikar village, Birbhum, accompanied by her eight-year-old son, Shabir. Her return followed months of detention in Bangladesh and came on humanitarian grounds due to her advanced stage of pregnancy. The order for her repatriation was issued by the Supreme Court on December 3, which also directed that she be kept under hospital care.
However, this homecoming has only sharpened the pain for another family in the same village. Just a kilometer away, the household of Rozina Bibi remains silent, their prayers unanswered. Her daughter, Sweety Bibi, 32, along with Sweety's two sons—Kurban, 16, and Imam, 6—are still in Bangladesh, despite being part of the same deportation case.
The Heartbreaking Wait and a Missing Father
The emotional toll is immense on Sweety's young son, Imran, who lives with his grandparents. He keeps asking why his aunt Sunali has come back, but not his mother. "How do you explain this to a 10-year-old?" lamented his grandmother, Rozina Bibi, 50. Imran's simple, heartbreaking question echoes in their home: "They took my mother. When will they return her to me?"
The family's struggles run deep. Sweety has been the sole breadwinner for her three children and her ailing parents since her husband, Azizul Dewan, went missing in Tamil Nadu four years ago. She worked as domestic help in Delhi to support them all. Rozina expressed a painful mix of emotions: "We cry every time we meet," she said, referring to Sunali's parents, Bhodu and Jyotsna. "Today their daughter is back. We are happy for them. But why not mine?"
Legal Labyrinth and a Pending Supreme Court Hearing
The ordeal began in June when Sunali, her husband Danish Sheikh, their son, along with her cousin Sweety and Sweety's two sons, were detained in New Delhi during a crackdown on alleged illegal immigrants. They were flown to Guwahati and pushed across the border to Bangladesh under an order from Delhi's Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO). Bangladeshi authorities arrested them on August 21, though a Chapai Nawabganj court later granted them bail.
A division bench of the Calcutta High Court had quashed the deportation order, citing procedural lapses, and directed that all six individuals be brought back to India. This judgment was subsequently challenged in the Supreme Court. The apex court's December 3 order specifically mentioned bringing back Sunali and her son, leaving the family of Sweety Bibi in confusion and distress.
"If the High Court ordered all six to be brought back, why was my daughter stopped?" questioned Rozina Bibi. The family has been given vague assurances since September 26, being told repeatedly that her return would take "two or three more days."
Samirul Islam, chairperson of the Bengal migrant workers’ welfare board, provided a glimmer of hope. He stated that the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Sweety's case again on December 12. "We are hopeful that Sweety and her two minor children, and Sunali’s husband, will be allowed to return too," he said.
For now, one household in Birbhum rocks a pregnant daughter back to safety. Another counts the days and listens for the footsteps that have yet to cross the border.
