Nationality in question: Karnataka HC seeks Bangladesh verification in Bengaluru detainee case
Bengaluru: Uncertainty continues to surround the citizenship status of a 32-year-old Bengaluru resident after the Karnataka High Court directed the state government to verify his antecedents through Bangladeshi authorities, despite official confirmation from West Bengal identifying him as an Indian national.
According to a report by The Indian Express, Rafiqul Biswas, who worked as a school bus driver and scrap dealer, was detained by Bengaluru police in September last year on allegations that he was a Bangladeshi national living illegally in India. The police action was reportedly based on documents, including a birth certificate and an identity paper bearing his photograph, which described him as a citizen of Bangladesh. Biswas’s family has consistently denied the allegation, asserting that he and his parents are natives of West Bengal.
The detention led to a prolonged legal and personal crisis for Biswas and his family. While lodged at a Foreigners Regional Registration Office detention centre, he suffered a cardiac episode and was hospitalised. He reportedly experienced a second heart attack in December and was subsequently released on medical grounds. His family has said he has faced repeated cardiac complications over the past four months, attributing them to stress arising from the case.
Since his release, Biswas has moved out of his earlier residence, citing fear of being targeted and loss of livelihood. Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, he declined to reveal his current location. His teenage daughter said the family had spent several days outside the FRRO office during his detention, carrying documents to prove his Indian citizenship. “My father is from West Bengal. We were born here,” she said.
The family also approached the State Human Rights Commission, alleging that the police had sought a bribe to settle the matter. The police have denied the allegation. Sources in the commission confirmed that the family had appeared before it in connection with the complaint.
Support for Biswas came from the All-India Shramik Swaraj Kendra, a Bengaluru-based organisation working with informal-sector workers. The organisation took up the case after Biswas’s wife sought assistance and later contacted the West Bengal Chief Minister’s Office for verification. Representatives of the organisation said the West Bengal Migrant Workers’ Board, in coordination with the Nadia district police, confirmed that Biswas is a resident of West Bengal and forwarded the relevant documents to the Karnataka government.
A lawyer was subsequently engaged to represent Biswas before the Karnataka High Court, where it was argued that a foreigners’ tribunal must first determine an individual’s nationality before any deportation proceedings could be initiated.
In an order passed on January 12, the High Court recorded that government authorities had acknowledged Biswas as a native of West Bengal and observed that the prosecution must produce proof from Bangladesh if it continued to claim that he was a foreign national. Acting on an appeal filed by the FRRO, the court granted the authorities two weeks to seek verification of the documents through Bangladeshi officials and directed the police to explain how papers identifying Biswas as Bangladeshi were obtained.
A senior police officer associated with the case said the detention was carried out based on a letter from State Intelligence describing Biswas as an illegal immigrant, along with documents received through official channels. The officer maintained that the police had followed due procedure and rejected allegations of bribery.
The matter is expected to come up for further hearing in early February.
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Mercury likely to touch 44 deg C in Delhi; IMD issues alert for heatwave-like conditions
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 26.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 2.4 notches below the seasonal average, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The weather department has forecast partly cloudy sky with an orange alert for heatwave-like conditions at isolated places by the evening.
The maximum temperature is expected to reach around 44 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the IMD said.
The relative humidity in the capital was recorded at 43 per cent at 8.30 am.
The air quality was 'poor' at 9 am, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 223, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.
According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.
