Listen to this article:

Paikar village (Bengal): “The marks of BSF boots are still all over my body,” said Sweety Bibi, holding out her hands and pointing at her neck as she showed what she described as the scars of the assault.

“We begged the BSF personnel with folded hands. We pleaded, ‘We do not know this place. We are Indian citizens. Why are you abandoning us in this deep forest at midnight?’ They replied, ‘This is the land of Bangladesh. We are leaving you here.’ When we asked again, they began kicking us with their boots. I endured all of this only to save my two sons.”

After a prolonged legal battle, on July 8, Sweety Bibi, her two sons, and their neighbour Danesh Sheikh finally returned to India. But survival remains a daily struggle and the memories of what they endured is fresh.

“We have no home, no livelihood, and often not enough food. How am I supposed to raise my three sons? I need a job,” she said.

Sweety Bibi, Sunali Khantun, Sunali’s husband Danesh Sheikh, and their children are residents of Paikar village in Birbhum district, West Bengal. Acute poverty and the lack of work had driven them to Delhi, where they lived in a rented shanty in Rohini and survived through waste picking, scrap collection, and other informal work.

Their case unfolded amid identity-verification drives targeting Bengali-speaking workers in several Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states.

While their story is well known by now, Sweety’s allegation that the BSF kicked her and others like her with their boots is serious. The Wire has reached out to the BSF for their response. This report will be updated when we hear back.

Sitting at her parents’ home in Paikar, Sweety Bibi described to The Wire the ordeal that pushed her and her family to the brink of death.

“Around eight years ago, I moved to Delhi with my husband, Azizul Dewan, my mother, Nazima Bibi, and our two minor sons in search of a livelihood,” Sweety said. “We collected discarded plastic and other scrap from the streets and sold it to local dealers. Five years ago, my husband went missing. He has never been found. Since then, I have lived alone with my sons, Qurban and Iman.”

According to Sweety, Delhi Police raided their shanty on June 17, 2025 and detained her and her sons. Sunali Khatun, Danesh Sheikh, and their son Sabir were also taken into custody. Sweety said........

© The Wire