Indian authorities have sent back seven Bangladeshi nationals after they spent a year in jail.
They were kept in a shelter home at Calcutta’s Barasat, sources said.
Among the seven Bangladeshis, there is a four-year-old boy. They hail from different areas in Jessore, Dhaka and Narayanganj.
The others are Joynal Abedin, 16, Jahirul Islam, 11, Hasan Dewan, 16, Faisal Ahmed, 16, Billal Hossain, 16 and Mizanur Rahman, 16.
A team of Indian Border Security Force (BSF) of Petrapole camp handed over the seven Bangladeshis to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Benapole ICP camp on Tuesday around 5:30pm.
Later, BGB took them to the Benapole Port Police. Police will send them back to their families.
“West Bengal Police arrested the Bangladeshis after they entered India illegally one year ago. Indian authorities sentenced one year jail for each”, said Benapole ICP camp commander Naib Subedar (junior commissioned officer) Abul Kasem.
The handover took place under the extradition treaty between the two countries, he added.
Bangladesh takes back 53 citizens sent back from Assam
Bangladesh took back 53 citizens who had spent some time in Assam jails, following official talks with Indian authorities and an inspection, some days ago.
Assam police sources said they had been held for illegal entry into their state. They were arrested under provisions of the Foreigners’ Act. These prisoners had resorted to hunger strike at one stage, pressing for better facilities.
Later Bangladeshi officials visited them in the jail, held a dialogue and examined some documents. Convinced of their Bangladeshi citizenship, they decided to take them back.
Assam DGP(SB) Pallab Bhattacharya told local media that this was a positive step.
The presence of Bangladeshis in Assam and some parts of the Indian Northeast is a politically sensitive issue. Most indigenous political parties are opposed to what they describe as ‘illegal infiltration from across the border’. They are also known to issue highly inflated figures of suspected Bangladeshis living in the NE areas, usually without much verification.
Thanks to the improved relations prevailing between the two countries in recent years, say observers, it has been possible to handle such matters more effectively.