Deleted in SIR, four Bengal men now locked at Chhattisgarh detention centre for over a month

(clock-wise) a) Sabir Sheikh, b) Nasiruddin Sheikh, c) Safikul Islam, d) Laltu Sheikh.

After their names were deleted from the voters list during the recent special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, four migrant workers from West Bengal’s Murshidabad now find themselves in an uncanny situation. It’s been a month; they have been detained by Chhattisgarh Police and lodged at a detention centre in Raipur on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals despite being a long-time resident of India over generations.

Late in August, at least 23 migrant workers, including the four persons Sabir Sheikh (42), Safikul Islam (39), Nasiruddin Sheikh (35), and Laltu Sheikh (28) from Murshidabad’s Samserganj and Sahabad areas, went to Chhattisgarh in search of work, where they have also been selling goods house-to-house in Bilaspur area.

On September 4, Chhattisgarh Police detained 23 persons from their residences in Chunchiapara-Ganesh Nagar under Sirgiti police station on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. They were initially taken to the Bilaspur Police Superintendent’s office, from where they were moved to a holding centre in Raipur for illegal immigrants.

Removed in SIR

Later, 19 of these 23 labourers were released on September 18 after the local civil court passed an order while these four men continued to be lodged at the detention centre. The police, in court, questioned their nationality based on the deletion of their names in the SIR exercise. Interestingly, the rest of the 19 persons found their names back on the voters list after the adjudication process in April.