Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday named the newborn son of Sunali Khatun as “Aapon” - a Bengali word meaning “one’s own” - in what the party described as a gesture of solidarity following Khatun’s wrongful deportation to Bangladesh and subsequent repatriation.
Banerjee visited a hospital in Rampurhat, Birbhum district, where Khatun was recovering a day after delivering a healthy baby boy. At the request of Khatun and her family, Banerjee suggested the name. Speaking to family members, he said the name symbolised belonging and identity, adding that “no force can take away what is truly one’s own.”
“What she has been through- thats inhuman. As she met bye, she said that she was first beaten up by Delhi police and then handed over top BSF. She further alleged that BSF assaulted her before pushing her into Bangladesh in din of night. Imagine, she was pregnant and yet they had no mercy. Can you place yourself in her place. We are glad she is fine now. We will ensure others are brought back too. This treatment meted to indian citizens on religious and linguistic lines in heartless and unconstitutional”, Abhishek Banerjee said after meeting Sunali Khatun.
Detention - Deportation - Repatriation
Khatun’s case drew national attention after she, her husband Sk Danish, and their eight-year-old son were detained on June 21, 2025, during an identity verification drive in West Bengal. The family was accused of discrepancies in their citizenship documents, despite possessing voter identity cards, Aadhaar cards and other records issued in Birbhum district.
At the time of detention, Khatun was approximately three months pregnant. She later said she repeatedly informed officials about her condition but was not granted relief. On June 26, the family was forcibly pushed across the India–Bangladesh border. Danish was deported separately, leaving Khatun and her child stranded in Bangladesh while she was pregnant.
The incident triggered criticism from the TMC, which accused central agencies of acting without due verification and ignoring humanitarian considerations. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed the deportation a “grave injustice” and called for immediate corrective action.
Trinamool Congress moved to Calcutta High Court and later Supreme Court. On December 3, 2025, the court directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to facilitate Khatun and her son’s return to India on humanitarian grounds, observing that potential procedural errors could not override basic human rights. Khatun returned to Birbhum the same day, then in an advanced stage of pregnancy. Her husband, however, remains in Bangladesh, with legal efforts ongoing to secure his return and resolve documentation issues.
On January 5, 2026, Khatun delivered her second son at a local hospital in Rampurhat. Doctors said both mother and child were stable, and the delivery was without complications despite the stress of the previous months. Banerjee visited the family the following day. During the interaction, he named the child Aapon, explaining that the name reflected the family’s struggle to assert their identity and rights. The TMC later said the naming carried a broader message against what it described as “arbitrary and inhumane” citizenship verification processes. Khatun said the name held special meaning for her family. “He is truly ours,” she said, adding that she hoped her experience would help prevent others from facing similar ordeals.
