Illegal border-crossing: 14 Bangladeshis return home after serving detention in India
Fourteen Bangladeshi nationals who had been detained in India, over alleged illegal border-crossing, have returned home today (19 June) after serving their sentences.
They arrived in the country through the Akhaura land port in Brahmanbaria at around 3:30pm.
They were brought to the country following joint efforts of the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala and mediation by the Migration Programme of the NGO BRAC.
Omar Sharif, consular assistant at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, said the 14 Bangladeshis had been detained in India for illegally entering the country in search of work.
Following a court order, arrangements were made for their repatriation after serving their sentences, he added.
At the zero line of the land port, the returnees were handed over to their families, confirmed Shaila Sharmin, deputy manager of BRAC's Migration Programme.
She said the returnees were provided with financial assistance and emergency food aid. The migration division will take necessary steps for their rehabilitation.
A decision has also been made to "push back" 33 more Bangladeshi detainees currently held in a temporary jail in Agartala.
