Nine Bangladeshis return through Benapole after serving prison terms in India

Nine Bangladeshis returned home through the Benapole land port after serving two and a half years in prison in India for illegal entry. The group included three women, two children and four men from the districts of Narail, Khulna and Barishal.

India’s Petrapole Immigration Police handed them to Bangladesh’s Benapole Immigration Police at about 7:10 p.m. under special travel permits issued by the Indian government. Border forces, customs officials, police and intelligence agencies from both countries were present during the handover.

The nine had gone to Kolkata illegally two years earlier in search of jobs, according to Benapole Checkpost Immigration Police officer Saifur Rahman. Indian police arrested them for illegal entry, and a court later sentenced them to two and a half years in prison.

After they completed their sentences, an Indian rights organization rescued them and housed them in a shelter. Once the two countries completed the required administrative procedures, the group returned to Bangladesh under the special permits.

Shafiqul Islam, a field worker for Justice & Care in Jashore, said the organization took charge of the returnees after they left the police station to help reunite them with their respective families.