KOLKATA: The parents of 26-year-old Sunali Khatoon, who was branded an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant and pushed across the border by Indian authorities, have been verified as voters in Bengal’s Birbhum district, with their names appearing in the state’s 2002 SIR of electoral rolls.Bhodu Sheikh, 62, and his wife Jyotsna Bibi, 55 — both on the 2002 SIR roll for Murarai assembly constituency — submitted enumeration forms on Nov 27. According to records, they are registered at Paikar Prathamik Vidyalay polling station, with Bhodu’s father recorded as Hatim Tai Sheikh.Sunali, who is nine months pregnant, got bail Monday from a Chapai Nawabganj court in Bangladesh after three-and-a-half months in prison with her husband Danish Sheikh, their eight-year-old son Shabir, her cousin Sweety Biwi and Sweety’s two minor sons. All six were deported in June after being arrested in New Delhi during crackdowns on “illegal immigrants”. Bangladeshi authorities arrested them Aug 21 for entering without documents .“All of us are Indian citizens,” Bhodu said, adding that he and his wife were struggling with deteriorating health and fear for Sunali’s well-being. “We heard about her bail in Bangladesh. Karishma, her cousin in Delhi, is updating us about the case.”“We have put our faith in the Indian judiciary. We are hopeful of Sunali’s return but will only rest when she returns home,” Bhodu added.
