21 Bangladeshis return serving jail term in India

A total of 21 Bangladeshi boys, women and children returned to the country through the Benapole border on Wednesday night after serving a two-year imprisonment in India.

Indian immigration police handed them over to Benapole immigration authorities approximately 8:30PM.

The group includes 10 boys and 11 girls, according to officer in-charge (OC) of Benapole Immigration Police Imtiaz Bhuiyan.

He said that after completing immigration formalities, the 21 returnees were transferred to Benapole Port Police Station.

The repatriated boys are identified as Indrajit Mondal, Pranto Mondal, Mihir Jowardar, Khairul Islam, Soikat Alam, Miraj Hossain Rimon, Abu Jubaida San, Yasir Arafat, Abid Ahmed and Apon Biswas.

The girls include Sahida Khatun, Suborna Roy, Snigdha Biswas, Shila Akter, Topa Khanam, Azmira Khatun, Tumpa Mondal, Sumaiya Akter, Dighi Biswas, Sonia Akter, and Sumaiya Akter.

They are from Dhaka, Keraniganj, Faridpur, Khulna, Bagerhat, Jashore, Narail, Satkhira, Kishoreganj and Cox’s Bazar.

Subsequently, two non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Rights Jashore and Justice and Care, took responsibility for their rehabilitation and family reunification.

Rights Jashore received 10 of the teenagers, while Justice and Care took responsibility for the remaining 11.

Justice and Care’s Senior Programme Officer Muhit Hossain said that traffickers lured these teenagers with promises of lucrative jobs and smuggled them into India through various border points two years ago. They were later detained by Indian authorities while working and served time in jails.

Following their imprisonment, Indian human rights organisation ‘Rescue Foundation’ sheltered them in its facilities.