Nearly 6 months after 'illegal deportation', pregnant Sunali, her son return to India from Bangladesh

After nearly six months of uncertainty, legal battles and emotional turmoil, 26-year-old Sunali Khatun and her eight-year-old son were brought back to India on Friday evening through the Mahadipur international land border in Malda district.

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Their return came days after the Supreme Court directed the Centre to consider her repatriation on humanitarian grounds, noting on Monday that she was nine months pregnant and could go into labour at any moment.

Sunali, her son and her husband were picked up from Delhi in June and pushed across the border to Bangladesh, where authorities arrested them for "illegal entry." The Calcutta High Court later termed the deportation "illegal," sparking a political storm in West Bengal.

On Friday, deputy high commissioners from both India and Bangladesh were present at Mahadipur to coordinate the handover along with BSF and BGB personnel. Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders from Malda, including Lipika Ghosh Barman and Prasenjit Das, were also on the ground.