A court in western Assam’s Dhubri district has ordered the release of 25 Bangladeshi nationals who were jailed in May for violating the terms and conditions of their visas.
Members of an organisation called Bangladesh-India Border Victim Rescue Committee said a local court in Dhubri dropped the charges against the 25 people and ordered their release following a request from Bangladesh.
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“The court issued the order on Saturday. But there is some paperwork involving relevant Ministries in India. We hope they can return home within a week,” Bangladesh’s Assistant High Commissioner in Guwahati Shah Mohammad Tanvir Monsur told The Hindu on Monday.
The police in Dhubri district had arrested 26 Bangladeshi nationals on May 3 when they were on their way home from eastern Assam’s Jorhat. Hailing from Kurigram district in Bangladesh, they had planned to return via the Changrabandha check post on the border between the two countries.
Police said the group had come on tourist visas but had worked as fishermen and farm hands. A contractor and environmental activist had allegedly invited them for two months but they had to overstay because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
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One of the Bangladeshi nationals died in jail on July 1. “We had decided to drop the case against the remaining 25 in response to a request from the Bangladesh government via New Delhi,” a senior district police officer said, declining to be quoted.
