Kurigram district jail authorities on Tuesday released five Indian nationals who had been jailed for illegally entering Bangladesh with drugs.  The five Indians are Alam Mia, son of Dudu Mia from Bengal's Cooch Behar district, Md Nuruzzaman, son of Surut Mia from Dhubri district in Assam, Selim Mia, son of Nur Islam from Mainkarchar, Jahangir Alam, son of Amirul Islam, and Maha Alam Sheikh, son of Sanowar Hossain, Md Ismail Hossain, Superintendent of Kurigram jail. Also read: Bangladeshi man shot dead by Indian Khashias; BSF hands over body However, two others -- Akbar Ali and Golzar Ali from Dhubri district -- will have to remain in prison as they didn't receive clearance from the Indian government though their jail term expired on February 1, 2022, he said. “At 7am, the five Indians were released from the jail and taken to the Burimari land port. There they will be handed to Border Security Force,” said Kurigram jail superintendent Ismail Hossain. The seven Indian citizens were arrested on charges of possession of drugs and illegal entry, he said. Also read:Illegal Indian products worth Tk 30cr seized in 10 months at Benapole border “Those who were released had to spend an extra six months in jail after serving their sentences, which is a serious violation of human rights," said advocate SM Ibrahim Lincoln, convener of Border Victim Rescue Legal Assistance Forum. "There are many like them in jails of both the countries. The Indian and Bangladeshi governments should take initiatives to return the inmates immediately after the end of their jail terms,” he added.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained an Indian citizen from Roumari bordering area of Kurigram on Saturday morning for entering Bangladesh territory without valid travel documents.The detainee was identified as Pashan Ali, 32, son of late Chattar Ali of Kuadanga village in Dhubri district of Assam.Khaledur Rahman, subedar of Dantbhanga BGB camp, said Pashan Ali entered Bangladesh from India illegally on Friday night. Tipped off, a BGB patrol team detained Pashan from the sub-pillar no. 1052 in the Roumari bordering area. Read: 2 held over killing woman in KhulnaThe detainee was involved in smuggling, subedar Rahman said.Later, the detainee was handed over to Roumari Police Station, he added.Montasser Billah, officer-in-charge of Roumari Police Station, said a case has been filed against Pashan Ali for trespassing. He will be sent to Kurigram Jail on Sunday, he added.

Police inspector Sheikh Sohel Rana, who has been held in India for illegal entry into the country, is unlikely to be repatriated to Bangladesh as he is facing a case in the neighbouring country. Indian media reported that Sohel was arrested on Friday near the Changrabandha border under Cooch Behar in the Indian state of West Bengal on his way to Nepal. Read: Owner of e-orange.shop, 2 others land in jail A Cooch Behar judicial magistrate court remanded him for three days in police custody in the trespassing case filed with the Mekhliganj police station when he was produced before the court on Saturday. Contacted, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner (DMP) Md Shafiqul Islam told UNB that they will try to bring back Sohel Rana but it may not possible at this moment as he is an accused in a case there filed by the Indian authority.  He said that “We will try to bring him back but it will not be possible because we are not sure that they will hand over him to us until the case is settled.” Since the case has been filed there (India), “we do not know whether they will give him to us without trial, he further said. Sohel and nine others were accused in a case filed on Thursday with the Gulshan police station on charges of embezzling money of customers of e-orange, allegedly owned by Sohel and his family members. Read: Owner of e-orange.shop, 2 others placed on 5-day remand Before fleeing the country he was posted at Banani Police Station as inspector (investigation). Contacted, officer-in-charge of Banani Police Station Nur-e-Azam said Sohel was on duty on last Thursday but he had been absent since Friday morning. Inspector Sohel is reportedly involved with e-commerce platform E-orange. He apparently left his workplace without permission after E-orange customers filed the case with Gulshan police station. His sister and brother-in-law, who used to run the company, are in jail now.

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) handed over five Bangladeshi citizens who illegally entered India to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) after holding a flag meeting on Saturday evening. The arrestees were identified as Abul Kalam,25, his wife Shahnaj Begum, son, Shahjalal,5, from Kamalapur village of former enclave Dashiarchara and Nur Jahan Begum,35, and her son Nur Imam,7, from Jokarhat Amtala village of the same upazila. BGB filed a case against three of the arrestees for crossing borders without passports and handed them over to police while leaving the two children in their parent’s custody. Also read: Benapole: BGB on high alert to prevent rawhide smuggling Belal Hossain , relative of an arrestee said, they went to India’s Delhi by illegal means through a broker and used to work in a brick kiln there. While waiting to enter Bangladesh near the border, BSF members of India’s Dhaprahat camp arrested them, he said. Dhaprahat-192 battalion BSF inspector Vivek Mila handed the arrestees over to BGB-15 Kashipur camp Company Commander Subedar Ramjan Ali in a flag meeting held near international pillar no-942 of Kashipur border around 5pm, Saturday, said the BGB sources.   Also read: BGB detains 8 Bangladeshis pushed back from India Officer-in-Charge of Fulbari police station, Rajib Kumar Ray said the three arrestees were sent to jail Sunday.

Indian authorities on Thursday night sent back as many as 10 Bangladeshi nationals, who had illegally entered the neighbouring country because of economic opportunity. The seven men and three women were handed over to the Benapole immigration police by India’s Petrapole immigration authorities at the Benapole land border. The 10 people have been identified as Roksana, Mahmuda, Golap Mia, Sakib Hossain, Russel Mia, Ayesha, Nayeem, Khokon, Sagor and Saju, belonging to Khulna, Narail and Narsingdi districts. Two NGOs -- Rights Jashore and Justice and Care -- later took the 10 men and women to their shelters. Also read: Benapole: BGB on high alert to prevent rawhide smuggling “The victims went to India’s Bengaluru city illegally with the help of brokers in the hope of finding well-paid jobs. Later they all were arrested by police and sentenced to three years in jail by Indian courts," said Towfiq, field officer of Rights Jashore. "An Indian NGO later kept them in their shelters after bailing them out. The victims were issued travel permits, following exchange of letters at both the country’s Home Ministry level," he said. Officer-in-Charge of Benapole immigration check post, Ahsan Habib said that the 10 Bangladeshis would need to spend 14 days in institutional quarantine. "After the mandatory isolation period, they will be handed over to their families." Also read: Two Bangladeshi women trafficked to India returns via Benapole

Sixty three Indian fishermen arrested for illegal entry into Bangladesh maritime boundary in October last, were freed from jail here on Wednesday following a court order.