Habiul Biswas and his wife Sajda Biswas stepped down from a vehicle near the Hakimpur border checkpost in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district. The checkpost is closely guarded by BSF personnel and monitored through cameras. People crossing here, whether on foot or vehicles, are frisked thoroughly. The couple claims they came to India from Bangladesh about six years ago. They have lived in Delhi and near Kolkata, collecting old newspapers for work. They left behind their minor daughter in India, who works at a brick kiln with her husband. "We are poor and do not have proper identity documents. We cannot stay here any longer. What if they put us in prison?" said Mr. Habiul. Before their arrival, BSF officials had asked a group of 20 Bangladeshis, including children, to wait and then transported them to the zero line at the border to cross back. The BSF holds meetings with Border Guards Bangladesh before any returnee group is sent across. Local resident Mostafa Sardar said large numbers of Bangladeshis have started coming back through Hakimpur since November 17. With habitation close to the zero line, BSF officers check everyone and all their goods. Another returnee, Kohinoor, who worked in Bengaluru hotels for nearly a year, said she faced hostility from BJP supporters telling Bengali speakers not to work. Despite a Congress government in Karnataka, BJP supporters pressured them to leave. Elderly Mobarrak Gazi recalled fleeing Bangladesh after cyclone Aila in 2009 and working in Howrah since. All returnees watched videos of people coming back through Hakimpur and expressed fears of arrest due to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Locals revealed illegal crossings once cost around ₹5,000 per person, but now BSF is helping people return safely with no money or risk involved. This explains the recent increase in Bangladeshi nationals voluntarily returning from this border point.