A Muslim man named Jalil Akhtar was released from a detention centre on Tuesday, following his bail on Monday. The police had detained him since June on suspicion of being an undocumented Bangladeshi citizen.
Jalil Akhtar, a resident of Uttar Dinajpur district in West Bengal, was picked up from his home by the police on June 19, under the suspicion that he was an undocumented Bangladeshi citizen. However, there was no basis for this suspicion as Akhtar's name appeared in the electoral rolls prepared after the special intensive revision in both 2002 and 2026.
The police made at least one attempt to deport Akhtar, following which a suo moto case was filed against him under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, alleging that he had entered the country without a valid passport, travel document, or visa. The police also claimed that Akhtar could not produce any documentary evidence to prove that he was an Indian citizen.
Akhtar's family members told Scroll that they have submitted land records from 1967, in his father Roshan Ali’s name, to the police. However, in its report, the police said that Akhtar could not produce any documentary evidence to prove that he was Ali’s son.
Trinamool Congress leader Samirul Islam asked who will take responsibility for such inhumane treatment of a poor person and urged higher authorities to take steps against those responsible for Akhtar's torture and harassment. Since the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in April 2025, the police in several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party have been detaining Bengali-speaking persons – mostly Muslims – and asking them to prove that they are Indian citizens.
Source:
Scroll.in
