Sunali Khatun: 'We are not from Bangladesh, we are Indian. Why did they do this to us?'

Sunali Khatun was pregnant when she was deported to Bangladesh for allegedly being an illegal immigrant.

Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationWatch DocumentariesTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch Live'We are not from Bangladesh, we are Indian. Why did they do this to us?' 2 days agoShareSaveIlma HasanBBC Hindi, West BengalShareSaveRubaiyat Biswas/BBCSunali Khatun says the deportation tore her family apart"I was scared that my child's nationality would change if he was born in Bangladesh," says a heavily pregnant Sunali Khatun, 25, who returned to India earlier this month after being deported to the neighbouring country in June.

Ms Khatun, a domestic worker from India's eastern state of West Bengal, was detained in Delhi with her husband, Danish Sheikh, and their eight-year-old son, and deported to Bangladesh on suspicion of being illegal immigrants. Bangladeshi authorities later jailed the family for entering the country unlawfully.

Her deportation made national headlines and was stridently criticised by the West Bengal government, who accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led federal government of deporting her without cause. She is among hundreds of people who have been detained and deported to Bangladesh in the past couple of months on suspicion of being illegal immigrants.

Delhi has not provided official data about these deportations, but top sources in the Bangladesh government had earlier told the BBC that in May alone, more than 1,200 people were "illegally pushed in". The same month, the government-run All India Radio reported that about 700 people had been sent back from Delhi.

Crackdowns on alleged Bangladeshi immigrants are not new in India. The two countries share close cultural ties and a porous 4,096km (2,545-mile) border spanning five states. West Bengal, like others along the frontier, has long seen waves of migration as people sought work or fled religious persecution.