Uttar Dinajpur court orders release of 66-year-old held as suspected foreigner

A court in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal on Tuesday ordered the release of a 66-year-old man who had been held for three months on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi national, after the investigating agency found his identity documents to be genuine.

Jalil Akhtar, a resident of Bagroi village in the district, was taken into custody by Dalkhola Police on June 20 and subsequently lodged in two holding centres. His family maintained that the detention was unlawful, pointing out that he held valid proof of Indian citizenship and that his name appeared on the electoral rolls during the special intensive revision exercises of both 2002 and 2026. He had first registered as a voter in 1995.

On July 4, Mr. Akhtar was handed over to the Border Security Force along with three other detainees for deportation to Bangladesh. While the other three were deported, two attempts to complete his deportation did not succeed.

The investigating officer was unable to establish that Mr. Akhtar's documents were invalid or forged, or that he had entered India illegally. The police submitted that his voter ID and PAN card were genuine and that his records in the 2002 SIR list were authentic.

The State opposed his bail plea, with the Assistant Public Prosecutor arguing that releasing him could pose a threat to the security and interests of the State and raise issues concerning national security. The APP contended that the accused had not produced any cogent and reliable document conclusively establishing Indian citizenship, and that the question required proper determination in accordance with law.

Advocates Syed Nafirul Islam and Firoz Ahmed, appearing for Mr. Akhtar, argued that investigators had not found the documents to be forged. Verification by the investigating agency, they said, prima facie indicated the existence of his Aadhaar card, EPIC card and ration card records in the respective government databases.

Directing the police to release him, the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jamshed Shaikh described it as an "unfortunate case" and acknowledged that the accused holds all valid legal documents establishing him as an Indian national. The court observed that the APP himself had fairly submitted that no single document can, in every case, conclusively establish citizenship by birth, and that the prosecution's contention could not by itself justify indefinite detention. It further held that an allegation concerning nationality cannot, without supporting material indicating a concrete threat, warrant indefinite detention of an undertrial.

While issuing the release order, the court directed Mr. Akhtar to cooperate with investigators and not to leave the territorial jurisdiction of the court without prior intimation, except in a medical emergency. Bail was granted on a bond of ₹10,000.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Samirul Islam, who had earlier written to the Director General of Police seeking intervention in the case, demanded action against the authorities concerned. In a post on X, he questioned why the police had not verified the documents before acting on mere apprehension, noting that the court had recorded that the voter identity card, Aadhaar and ration card were found valid.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had promised during the West Bengal Assembly election campaign to identify and deport illegal infiltrators from the State. After coming to power, the government directed district magistrates to set up holding centres for detained illegal foreigners and released foreign prisoners awaiting deportation. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said in June 2026 that 4,800 "illegal infiltrators" from Bangladesh who did not fall under the ambit of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act had been deported over the preceding month.