Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has returned pregnant Indian national Sonali Khatun to India, following weeks of controversy after she and her eight-year-old son were allegedly forced across the border by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF). 

The handover took place at 7:30pm on Friday (5 December) during a formal flag meeting at the Sonamasjid Integrated Check Post in Chapainawabganj.

The confirmation came through a statement issued at night by Lieutenant Colonel Golam Kibria, Commanding Officer of the Mohananda Battalion.

Speaking to journalists after the handover, the battalion commander said the BSF’s act of “push-in” constituted a blatant violation of international human rights standards and bilateral border management agreements.

He said, “This practice of ‘push-in’ has long caused humanitarian distress in border areas and remains an obstacle to maintaining a peaceful and cooperative border environment between the two countries.”

He added that, in contrast to the BSF’s behaviour, the Government of Bangladesh, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the BGB ensured the entire process was carried out transparently, safely and with full respect for humanitarian principles, international law, and neighbourly relations.

The BGB expressed hope that the BSF would cease such inhumane and unlawful actions, including push-ins, and uphold a humane and lawful border management process in future.

On 25 June, six Indian nationals—among them Sonali Khatun, who was 35 weeks pregnant, and her minor child—were reportedly pushed into Bangladesh through the Kurigram border. They were subsequently arrested by Bangladeshi authorities for illegal entry and sent to jail custody on 22 August following a court order.

On 2 December, a local court released them into community custody on humanitarian grounds and instructed that steps be taken to repatriate them to India through diplomatic channels.

Following intensive coordination between the Ministry of Home Affairs and BGB Headquarters, both countries agreed to their repatriation, culminating in their return on Friday.