Photo: Collected
A Bangladeshi couple, sentenced to five years in prison for illegal migration to India, returned home through the Benapole check post on Sunday, authorities said. The returnees are Md. Rashid Sheikh, 40, and his wife Jhorna Khatun, 32, from Mallik Para village in Jhikargachha upazila of Jashore.
The Petrapole immigration police handed them over to the Benapole Immigration Police on Sunday evening through a special travel permit issued by the Indian government.
Imtiaz Bhuiyan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Benapole Immigration Police, said they were handed over to the Benapole Port Police Station after due procedures. From there, an NGO called Rights Jessore will receive them and hand them over to their families, he added.
Md. Jawadul Karim, Psychosocial Counsellor at Rights Jessore, said the couple had illegally crossed into India through the Chaugachha border in Jashore in March 2018 in search of better job opportunities.
They found work in a vegetable shop in Gujarat but were arrested by Indian police in January 2020.
Later, they were sentenced to five years in prison and sent to Gujarat Central Jail. After completing their sentence, the couple was placed in a shelter run by an Indian NGO.
With support from the embassies of both countries, the couple returned to Bangladesh on Sunday evening. Rights Jessore has confirmed that the couple will stay at their shelter home before being safely handed over to their families.
Messenger/JRTarek
