Muslim men seized in midnight raids across Murshidabad and sent to detention centres

In Murshidabad district, police have carried out a series of nocturnal raids since June, seizing at least eleven Muslim men and two children on suspicion of illegal Bangladeshi status. The men were taken from their homes without warrants, with officers in civilian attire demanding identification and then transporting them to detention centres that families cannot locate. Most detainees had documentation, including pension records, land deeds and voter cards, and several had been validated by the Election Commission’s recent special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Appeals to courts have been made, including a habeas corpus petition by an elderly relative, yet officials argue the detentions comply with an executive order and require no FIR. Human-rights activists condemn the opaque process as unconstitutional and link it to recent statements by the state chief minister about deporting alleged infiltrators.