14 Bangladeshi prisoners released by Indian govt

The Indian Government on 5 January released 14 Bangladeshi refugees, including five children, two years after they had entered the country illegally.

According to the Dhaka Tribune, the refugees had entered India through the Jessore border, in search of jobs, and did not have valid documents.

The refugees returned home through the Petrapole-Benapole check post, which marks the demarcation of the Indo-Bangladeshi border.

Tarikul Islam, the officer-in-charge of the Benapole Immigration Police, said, "The Petrapole Immigration Police handed the refugees to us after all formalities were completed."

Motiar Rahman, a sub-inspector at the Benapole Police Station, said the police had handed the refugees back to their families.

In 2015, the refugees were arrested from a makeshift camp in Kolkata. The Calcutta High Court had later sentenced them to one-and-a-half years in jail.

The process to bring them back started following a joint intervention by the home ministries of the two countries in last year.

-ANI