Indian citizen Sakhina Begum, victim of cross-border pushback, gets bail

A Dhaka court has granted bail to Indian citizen Sakhina Begum, who was detained in the capital's Bhashantek area for allegedly entering Bangladesh without a passport or visa. 

The court also placed her in the custody of her Bangladeshi shelter providers.

Following a hearing today (23 November), Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Zakir Hossain approved her bail and directed the Bhashantek Police Station inspector to report back to the court on her status after one week.

Sakhina Begum's lawyer Rahmatullah Siddique confirmed the development, saying she was produced before the court for the bail hearing. 

"We applied for bail, and the court granted it, placing her under the custody of her shelter providers, Zakia and Khelki Akter. The police inspector will update the court after a week," he said.

He added that there is no legal obstacle to her release since no other cases are pending against Sakhina.

"We expect she will be freed by tomorrow morning," he said.

Sakhina was arrested on 25 September after Bhashantek police filed a case against her under the Control of Entry Act, 1952 for entering Bangladesh illegally. She was sent to jail the following day. Her bail comes after 57 days in custody.

According to the case statement, Sakhina was found near Tinshed Tekpara Lane in Bhashantek. She reportedly told locals she was from Assam and spoke some Bengali and Assamese. Unable to produce a passport or visa, she was handed over to police. She also could not explain how she crossed into Bangladesh or arrived in Bhashantek.

Sakhina Begum was reportedly detained by India's Border Security Force (BSF) in Assam a few months ago and forcibly pushed into Bangladesh. In late September, the BBC located her in Mirpur, Dhaka. Police arrested her shortly after the report was published.