Standing with her husband Musharraf Biswas and four children, Khukumoni Bibi (39) says it is “fear” which is causing them to try and leave for Bangladesh — fear of police, of detention centres, of demolitions.She is among a crowd of about 300 men, women and children, with their belongings bundled in small bags, squatting on a small field under the sun, beside the BSF check-post at Hakimpur. It is about 90 km from Kolkata, and right next to the border with Bangladesh.AdvertisementThe people have been trooping here since Sunday, hearing that crossover into Bangladesh is possible from the Hakimpur border outpost. They have been arriving at all times, including in the wee hours. Nearby under the tin shade of a tea shop, police officials note down details of the people, including their names and addresses they give for Bangladesh, in a diary. Most don’t have valid papers for India, but have documents certifying them as Bangladeshi.The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive over, state elections swept by the BJP, and the Suvendu Adhikari government having opened detention camps as part of his government’s “detect, delete and deport” policy, the people gathered in Hakimpur say staying back is not worth the risk. They entered Bengal “illegally”, they say, and now want to go back. At Hakimpur border check-post in North 24 Parganas. (Express photo by Partha Paul)On Tuesday, referring to people heading for the border, Adhikari said: “Jaldi jaldi bhago, nahin toh jo karna hai sarkar karega (Quickly leave, otherwise the government will take necessary action).” Meanwhile, the number of people at the two detention centres that have opened, in Malda and Murshidabad, has swelled to 16.AdvertisementKhukumoni says she belongs to Satkhira district in Bangladesh but had been living in the New Town area adjacent to Kolkata for the past five years. “My husband worked as a garbage collector and I as a domestic help. A few days back, our landlord told us to leave. Then we heard that detention camps were being set up. So we decided to give up everything and return to Bangladesh… My four children were enrolled in schools here. Now we will have to restart,” says the 39-year-old. At Hakimpur border check-post in North 24 Parganas. (Express photo by Partha Paul)Four men who say they made a living doing labour work in Kerala are also headed to Bangladesh. Fahim Malida, 30, says they crossed over eight months back. “Everything was arranged by a tout in Bangladesh. From Kustia we entered Murshidabad in Jalangi area, crossing a dry river, at around 12 noon; we were told the BSF had a change of guards at that time. The tout charged Rs 7,000 each.”Almost immediately, they left for Kerala on a bus, Malida says. They worked as masons and got paid Rs 1,000 for a day’s work, usually working from 7 am to 3 pm. “One meal was arranged by the owner of the building in which we worked.”That money meant a lot, the men say. “In Bangladesh, we would get 500 takas (around Rs 390) for a day’s work, and work once or twice a week,” says Shahjahan Khan.Motleb Hussain, 30, who crossed over with the two, says they first started facing questions during the elections (Kerala went to polls along with Bengal). “The landlords wanted Aadhaar cards to let us stay. We did not have them. So we decided to return. An Indian tout brought us a train from Kerala to the Santragachi station, then to this check-post, before leaving suddenly. We had given him Rs 10,000 per head.” The people have been trooping here since Sunday, hearing that crossover into Bangladesh is possible from the Hakimpur border outpost. (Express photo by Partha Paul)Hussain adds: “Even if we are able to enter Bangladesh, we don’t know what will happen and how we will return home.”Muhamed Sadek, 40, says he is headed to Bangladesh with his wife and three daughters. Sadek says they lived in a slum in Ultadanga in Kolkata, having come 15 years ago. “My wife and I worked as garbage collectors. But three days back police and others demolished our shanties. It was then that we decided to leave.”He was told he could cross over from this border check-post. “During the SIR drive, some of our neighbours used this route… We have heard police will hound us and throw us in detention centres. We don’t want to go through this harassment with our children. We are scared,” says Sadek, who adds that he is also from Satkhira district.Aleya Bibi, 45, and husband Abdul Hassan, 50, say New Town had been home for them and their two children for 15 years. Says Aleya: “My husband operated a van rickshaw and I worked as a domestic help. Even during the SIR, we did not leave, though we don’t have a voter card or Aadhaar… But now there is a new government and I hear they will put us in detention centres. Our landlord too said we can’t stay… It is not easy going back with children after settling down here. But we don’t have an option.” At Hakimpur border check-post in North 24 Parganas. (Express photo by Partha Paul)Barun Das, the owner of the tea shop near the checkpost, says that during the SIR, “we saw Bangladeshis returning from this area”. “Since Sunday people have again started coming with their luggage.”you may likeBSF jawans, who have barricaded the road, are carefully checking passing vehicles, e-rickshaws, cars and motor bikes. Also keeping a watch is a heavy police contingent. Earlier, very few people with valid papers and passports crossed into Bangladesh from this outpost. But this first changed in November last year, during the SIR, when hundreds made their way across.BSF officials on the condition of anonymity say biometric checks are being done of everyone, and that if any alarm is raised in case of anyone, for crime or terror link, they are handed over to police. The paramilitary force is tightlipped about the numbers who have crossed over already.“We are allowing people to leave after proper documentation, taking their biometric and checks… They don’t have valid Indian papers but they are showing papers of their residence in Bangladesh,” says a senior BSF officer.