Pregnant Sunali Khatun who was pushed back into Bangladesh gives birth to son after return to India

Pregnant Sunali Khatun, who was pushed back to Bangladesh, gave birth to a son on Monday (January 5), weeks after she returned to India. Trinamool Congress national president Abhishek Banerjee called it a “triumph of humanity”. 

“I am deeply moved and genuinely heartened to learn that Sunali Khatun has given birth to a healthy baby boy at Rampurhat Medical College, Birbhum,” Mr. Banerjee shared a post on his social media handle X. 

The TMC Lok Sabha MP also spoke about how Ms. Khatun was falsely accused of being a Bangladeshi national and was forcefully deported to the neighbouring country in Bangladesh. 

Ms. Khatun and her minor son returned to India after a Supreme Court order on December 3. They stayed in Bangladesh for over six months who was deported in June and returned to India December 5. 

Ms. Khatun and her family members, residents of Birbhum district in West Bengal had shared their worry that if her child is born in Bangladesh while she is there during pregnancy her child may lose his claim over his Indian citizenship. 

They were part of a group of six people who were pushed back into Bangladesh, four of them are still languishing in Bangladesh.  

The group, including two women — Ms. Khatun and Sweety Bibi — and the latter’s two sons had to spend time behind bars in Bangladesh after the alleged “push back”. 

The plight of the members of two families came to fore when days after the alleged “push back”, they released a video message urging West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for their repatriation from Bangladesh. 

Speaking about the ordeal faced by Ms Khatun, Mr Banerjee said, “Her ordeal was a violation of dignity that no citizen, least of all a pregnant mother, should ever be forced to endure. Yet, through it all Sunali displayed extraordinary courage and resolve.” He also added that he will personally meet Ms Khatun during his visit to Birbhum on Tuesday (January 6).