25 Bangladeshis, lodged in Assam jail, released

Twenty five Bangladeshi nationals, who were lodged in western Assam's Dhubri district jail for 122 days, were released and sent back to Bangladesh on Wednesday, according to Indian officials. 

"The Bangladeshis who had been detained on May 3 for violations of visa rules, were sent back through Changrabandha checkpost in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district," said an official of Dhubri District Administration, reports Orissa Post citing IANS.  

Earlier on August 30, a Sub-Divisional Court in Dhubri district had ordered the release of 25 Bangladeshi citizens. 

The official on condition of anonymity said that following a request from Bangladesh government, the Indian authorities had withdrawn the case against them and then the court dropped the charges and ordered their release.

The Bangladeshi nationals, who hail from Kurigram district of Bangladesh, had entered Assam on tourist visas but were working as fishermen in Jorhat and Sivasagar districts in the eastern part of the state.

On May 3, the Dhubri police arrested a total of 26 Bangladeshi nationals at Bahalpur- the inter-district border of Dhubri- when they had tried to go back to their homes illegally by hiring two vehicles from Jorhat..

One of the Bangladeshi nationals died on July 1 at the Dhubri Civil Hospital and his body was handed over to his family members in Bangladesh.