Don’t bite the hand that feeds you: Bangladeshi studying at NIT Silchar deported, had endorsed dehumanising, racist post targeting Indians

Despite being an alumnus of NIT Silchar, Sadat Hossain Alphi did not have qualms about equating Indians with dogs. Maisha Mahjabin reacted to his disturbing post with a heart emoji.

On Tuesday (27th March), the Assam police confirmed that a Bangladeshi national named Maisha Mahjabin, who was studying engineering at NIT Silchar, had been deported to her home country.

The accused had endorsed a Facebook post, which dehumanised Indians as ‘dogs.’ On Monday (26th March) morning, she was sent back to Bangladesh through the Karimganj border in Assam.

Her transfer to the other side of the border was facilitated by the Assam Police and the Border Security Force (BSF). Maisha Mahjabin was a student of the electronics and communication engineering department.

According to her Facebook profile, the Bangladeshi national was also a summer intern with the Northeast Frontier Railway.

The police have clarified that the deportation of Maisha Mahjabin to Bangladesh was not due to her endorsement of anti-India hate. She had reportedly applied for a ‘long leave’ after coming under public scanner over her contentious social media activity.

Sadat Hossain Alphi, another Bangladeshi national and an ex-student of NIT Silchar (2020-2024), had initially shared a post on Facebook published by a page called ‘Department of Memes, Rajshahi University.’

The post read, ‘Loud and Clear’ and was accompanied by a picture of the main gate of the Rajshahi University in Bangladesh.

‘Dogs and Indians are not allowed,’ read the writing on the wall. For the unversed, the said phrase dates back to the colonial times when Britishers would dehumanise Indians as animals, unworthy of being called ‘humans.’

Despite being an alumnus of a premier educational institute in India, Sadat Hossain Alphi did not have qualms about endorsing the racist phrase targeting Indians. Maisha Mahjabin had even reacted to his disturbing post with a heart emoji.

Soon after, the screenshot of his Facebook post went viral on social media. Unlike Maisha, Sadat was residing in Bangladesh at that time and escaped public ire. However, it was enough for the cops to take cognisance of the matter.

On Sunday (25th August), the police tweeted, “In response to the dissemination of objectionable posts on social media, a comprehensive enquiry was conducted, involving a visit to the institution and interactions with officials & students.”

“The investigation revealed that the offensive post was made by one x student. Sadat Hossain Alphi, an alumnus of NIT Silchar, is currently residing in Bangladesh. The institution is actively addressing the matter with the competent authorities, while we are keeping sharp vigil and efforts continue to ensure peace and tranquillity,” it added.

In the meantime, Indian netizens are demanding the withholding of the academic degree of Sadat Hossain Alphi and not allowing Maisha Mahjabin to return from Bangladesh.

Sadat cries foul, plays ‘account hacked’ victim

Amid the controversy, the accused Sadat had cried foul over the matter. While speaking to Barak Bulletin, he claimed, “l don’t have any hatred for India or Indians.”

“I have high regard for the country and its population…l had shared a post about the NIRF ranking of NIT Silchar. In the comments section of that post, I had many people hurling abuses and questioning my integrity. Some of my compatriots even unfriended me,” he alleged.

“Following that, I stopped using my Facebook account. However, I realised that my account was compromised and anti-lndia content had been shared. The moment it came to my notice, I recovered my account and deleted the post,” Sadat claimed.