Assam: 'I was pushed across the border into Bangladesh at gunpoint'
"The people who are declared foreigners but haven't even appealed in court, we are pushing them back," Sarma said. He also claimed that people with pending court appeals were not being "troubled".
But Abdur Razzaque Bhuyan, a lawyer working on many citizenship cases in Assam, alleged that in many of the recent instances, due process - which would, among other things, require India and Bangladesh to cooperate on the action - was not followed.
"What is happening is a wilful and deliberate misinterpretation of the court order," he said.
Mr Bhuyan recently filed a petition on behalf of a student organisation seeking the Supreme Court's intervention in stopping what they said was a "forceful and illegal pushback policy" but was asked to first approach the Assam high court.
Aamir Peerzada/BBC
In Morigaon, around 167km from Barpeta, Rita Khatun sat near a table which had a pile of papers on it.
Her husband Khairul Islam, a 51-year-old school teacher, was in the same group as Ms Banu that was allegedly picked up by authorities.
A tribunal had declared him a foreigner in 2016, after which he spent two years in a detention centre before being released. Like Ms Banu, his case is also being heard in the Supreme Court.
"Every document is proof that my husband is Indian," Ms Khatun said, leafing through what she said was Mr Islam's high school graduation certificate and some land records. "But that wasn't enough to prove his nationality to authorities."
She says her husband, his father and grandfather were all born in India.
But on 23 May, she says that policemen arrived at their home and took Mr Islam away without any explanation.
It was only a few days later - when a viral video surfaced of a Bangladeshi journalist interviewing Mr Islam in no man's land - that the family learnt where he was.
Like Ms Banu, Mr Islam has now been sent back to India.
While his family confirmed his return, the police told the BBC they had "no information" about his arrival.
Sanjima Begum says she is sure her father was declared a foreigner due to a case of mistaken identity - he was also taken on the same night as Mr Islam.
"My father's name is Abdul Latif, my grandfather was Abdul Subhan. The notice that came [years ago, from the foreigners' tribunal] said Abdul Latif, son of Shukur Ali. That's not my grandfather, I don't even know him," Ms Begum said, adding that she had all the necessary documents to prove her father's citizenship.
The family has now heard that Mr Latif is back in Assam, but he hasn't reached home yet.
While some of these people are back home now, they fear they might be picked up again abruptly.
"We are not playthings," Ms Begum said.
"These are human beings, you can't toss them around as per your whims."
Additional reporting by Aamir Peerzada and Pritam Roy
