For over eight months, 25-year-old Awal Sheikh has been languishing in confinement – first in a jail, and then at a detention centre for illegal foreigners, in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district — miles away from his Murshidabad home in West Bengal, where his parents are leaving no stones unturned to get him back.
“He is an Indian hailing from Murshidabad,” said Awal’s 72-year-old father Mozammel Haque over the phone from his village.
“We have ancestral land records from 1929 and 1962, and the family’s name is in the 2002 electoral roll (of West Bengal),” he added.
According to the family members, who live at Topidanga village in the Ranitala area of Murshidabad district, Awal left for Chennai in March this year to work as a mason at a construction site in Cuddalore district.
“On April 2, Awal called us to tell us that he had been picked up by the police on suspicion of being an illegal Bangladeshi,” says his father.
According to the family, Awal and seven others were picked up by Bhuvanagiri police on April 2 under suspicion that they made fake Aadhaar cards and passports.
After they were questioned, Awal and others were booked under the Foreigners Act and sent to judicial custody at Parangipettai Sub-Jail.
Meanwhile, the parents tried everything, from engaging a lawyer in Tamil Nadu to visiting Ranitala police station several times to even calling up the helplines of the two chief ministers — Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, and MK Stalin of Tamil Nadu.
“We reached Tamil Nadu and engaged a lawyer. He promised to get my son released on bail. We submitted all local identity documents,” Mozammel said.
On June 5, in a relief for the family, Awal was granted bail by a court in Cuddalore.
However, to their dismay, they found that Awal was moved to a foreigners’ detention centre in Tiruchirappalli since he was booked under the Foreigners Act.
Meanwhile, police filed a chargesheet in the case against seven accused who pleaded guilty. The court sentenced them to two years in jail and a fine of Rs 10,000 each. Awal, however, pleaded not guilty and asserted that he is an Indian citizen.
“Since Awal is Indian, we pleaded not guilty and submitted documents. He got bail, but since the case is still on against him under the Foreigners Act, he was sent to a detention camp,” Awal’s lawyer L Ambruse told The Indian Express over the phone.
Awal has moved the Madras High Court, seeking the quashing of the FIR under the Foreigners’ Act.
“We have provided all the documents to the High Court to prove that he is an Indian citizen and a resident of West Bengal. In the last hearing, the court sought a report from the police. However, the matter has not been listed yet. We will appeal for another hearing in the first week of the New Year after the court’s vacation,” the lawyer said.
“There is nothing in the case. By mistake, Awal’s name was added with the Bangladeshis,” added Ambruse.
Asif Faruk, state general secretary of Parijayi Sramik Aikya Manch (Migrant Workers Unity Forum) in West Bengal, said they are trying to help the family.
“We have seen and verified all documents of Awal. They are genuine. Therefore, it is imperative that the police and administrative authorities take immediate steps to ensure a fair and impartial review of Awal Sheikh’s case. Adequate legal assistance must be provided, and all necessary legal measures should be initiated so that an innocent Indian migrant worker is not subjected to continued injustice and suffering,” Faruk said.
In Murshidabad, Awal’s family is in despair. “We have spent over Rs 1.10 lakh already. We have spent on lawyer fees and our travel expenses to Tamil Nadu. We do not have any more money left,” says Sajeda, Awal’s wife.
“I called up the helpline, met with the local MLA (Riaz Hussain). Everyone and everywhere I heard them saying that they were trying. But nothing has happened till date. I just want my son to return,” added Mozammel.