SIR begins reverse migration of ‘illegal Bangladeshis’ at Hakimpur border
West Bengal: At the Hakimpur BSF border outpost in North 24 Parganas, a stretch of paved road that opens into a narrow, dusty, unpaved lane has become an informal passage for “illegal Bangladeshis” who have lived in the state for years. Under a large banyan tree, families carrying small cloth bags, children clutching plastic bottles, and men waiting on their knees stood in a silent line on Saturday, repeating a single plea to BSF jawans: “Let us go home.” Across the South Bengal border area, security personnel and locals say the number of undocumented Bangladeshi nationals trying to return to their country has risen sharply since the beginning of November.
This movement has taken the form of a strange reverse migration, which officials and they themselves directly link to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in West Bengal.
Shahin Bibi, who said she was from Khulna district and worked as a domestic help in New Town, near Kolkata, was waiting on the roadside with her young child.
“I came here because we were poor. I don’t have the right documents. Now, I want to return to Khulna. That’s why I’m here,” she said.
She earned around 20,000 rupees a month, lived in a shared room with two other women, and regularly sent money home.
Many people in line admitted they had obtained Aadhaar cards, ration cards, or voter ID cards from brokers and middlemen while living in West Bengal.
When SIR demanded verification of old documents, many said they would prefer to leave rather than risk questioning and possible detention.
A young waiter who had lived in Kolkata for eight years said, “I don’t want to stay here anymore.” “If they check old papers, we can’t show anything. It’s better to leave before they ask questions.” This anxiety was evident in the line of men, women, and families from New Town, Birati, Dhulagori, Bamangachi, Ghushuri, and parts of Howrah’s industrial belt.
Some had been in the state for more than ten years; others had arrived only a few years ago.
Border officials confirmed the increase.
They say 150-200 people are being detained every day and sent back after verification. Since November 4, the day the SIR exercise began, the queues have started growing longer.
A BSF officer said, “We can’t assume everyone here is just returning home.”
“Verification is necessary. Biometric details are sent to district officials and state police. This takes time.” Due to the crowds, delays of two to three days are common. People wait outside the outpost gate under plastic sheets, newspapers, or on stalled trucks.
BSF personnel provide food to those inside the camp, but those waiting outside rely on food from roadside stalls or occasionally distributed by local youth and shopkeepers. A plate of rice with eggs costs ₹40; rice with fish costs ₹60.
Some people from Satkhira said they paid between ₹5,000 and ₹7,000 for their initial entry into West Bengal. Others spent much more.
Manirul Sheikh, 29, who works in a garment unit and collects scrap in Dhulagori, said, “I paid around ₹20,000 to get the documents.”
