A court in India has acquitted BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed in a case filed for trespassing into Indian territory.
“The court in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya state, acquitted the former minister on Friday (Oct 26) in the case under India’s Foreigners Act 1946,” BNP Media Wing member Khairul Kabir Khan told Bangla Tribune.
Friday’s verdict came after the court deferred its verdict on the case for at least three times.
A joint secretary general of the BNP, Salahuddin went missing in March 2015 from Dhaka without a trace for two months and finally surfaced in Shillong.
On May 11, Salahuddin was spotted at the Golf Link area in Shillong. Locals reported him to Meghalaya police saying he was wandering “suspiciously and aimlessly.”
Salahuddin was initially not speaking coherently, and he was first taken to the Meghalaya Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (MIMHANS) for examination. After he was declared mentally sound, the BNP leader was transferred to Shillong Civil Hospital.
On May 12 that year, Meghalaya police arrested and filed a case against Salahuddin, as he did not have proper travel documents. The court has framed charges against the BNP leader under Section 14 of India’s Foreigners Act 1946.
Salahuddin claimed in court he was abducted in Bangladesh on Mar 10, but said he has no idea how he ended up on the other side of the border in Shillong on May 11.
The BNP leader was granted bail on Jun 5, under the conditions that he appears before the court or the police, does not abscond or leave the jurisdiction of the court, and provides his complete residential address to the police.
Since then, Salahuddin has receiving treatment and living in Shillong. Family goes there to see him occasionally.