Dhaka begins search for missing Assam woman

The Gauhati High Court

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh's home ministry told TOI on Monday that it has launched a search for 43-year-old Assam woman Mumtaz Begum, who was sent to Bangladesh in the intervening night of June 13-14 and has been untraceable since.

Top bureaucrats in Dhaka also said they were awaiting official communication from India on the case.Dr Ziauddin Ahmed, additional secretary (Political and Immigration), Bangladesh home ministry, whose office deals with border enforcement, illegal crossings and cross-border deportations, said officials were trying to locate Mumtaz but had no information as of Sunday. The matter was sent to police and other depts late on Sept 27, days after TOI reached out.Gauhati HC on Sept 3 directed MEA to "endeavour to locate Mumtaz in Bangladesh and bring her back". The HC also directed Assam govt to pay her husband Mujammel Hoque Rs 2 lakh interim compensation, observing "she was expelled without her husband or an adult family member being informed". HC found it denied her a chance to challenge it, a violation of democratic due process.

Tribunal declared Assam woman a foreigner, but Gauhati HC set it aside

Underscoring that basic human rights extend to anyone on Indian soil, the bench directed Assam Police and home dept to "ensure that declared foreign nationals are informed about tribunal orders and that their adult family members are notified before they are moved outside their district".

The court criticised the tribunal for stripping her of the "opportunity to challenge the Foreigners Tribunal's opinion before Gauhati HC".With no information in India, TOI contacted journalists, human-rights activists, officials and govt and security establishment sources across Bangladesh, focusing on Sylhet division and adjoining districts, where she could have ended up.A senior Dhaka-based businessman, who wishes to stay anonymous, joined authorities in the search and is working with govt and security contacts.

An appeal with her photo and identification details, including Foreigners Identification Portal ID, was published in prominent Bengali newspapers on Sept 22. Bangla daily Manob Kantha also carried her photo and reported on the family's search.

Official efforts in Sylhet, however, have found no lead. Sylhet Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sarwar Murshed Shamim said police had "tried to locate Mumtaz within the metropolitan area but had not found her and were continuing the search."Mumtaz, from Nagaon, was declared a foreigner by a Foreigners Tribunal. The HC set aside the opinion and ordered fresh consideration, finding deficiencies in its assessment of evidence including 1965 and 1970 voter-list records of her grandfather, her father's 1977 voter-list record and voter ID, Gaonburah and Gaon Panchayat certificates, a school transfer certificate and land records.She appeared before the tribunal on May 30 with her lawyer, after which police took her into custody. She was taken to Juria and Nagaon Sadar police stations, Matia holding centre in Goalpara, then Eraligool holding centre in Sribhumi (June 4-13).Handed to BSF on June 13, she was sent to Bangladesh on June 14 from Kalaincherra, Cachar, BSF told the HC. Three months on, police, authorities and civil-society members are trying to establish where she is.