A Dhaka court on Sunday (October 8, 2023) sentenced disgraced director of International Leasing and Finance Service Ltd (ILFSL) Proshanto Kumar Halder, also known as PK Halder to 22 years’ of imprisonment in a case over amassing wealth and money laundering. Thirteen other accused in the case were sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment each. Judge of Dhaka Special Judge Court-10 Mohammad Nazrul Islam delivered the judgment. The 13 convicts included Sukumar Mridha, Anindita Mridha, Avantika Baral, Shankh Bepari, PK Halder's mother Lilavati Halder, Purnima Rani Halder, Uttam Kumar Mistri, Amitabh Adhikari, Pritish Kumar Halder, Rajib Som, Subrata Das, Anang Mohan Roy and Swapan Kumar Mistri. Read: Court fixes October 8 to deliver verdict in graft case against PK Halder, 13 others Of them, Sukumar Mridha, Anindita Mridha, Avantika Baral and Shankh Bepari were present on the dock during the delivery of the judgment. Earlier on October 4, the court set October 8 for delivering verdict upon ending arguments from the both the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the defendants. Mamunur Rashid Chowdhury, assistant director of Dhaka Integrated District Office of the ACC, filed the case against PK Haldar for acquiring around Tk 275 crore illegally on January 8, 2020. According to the case statement, PK Halder acquired wealth worth almost Tk 275 crore beyond known sources of income through illegal activities and kept them in his possession. Read: India to hand over PK Halder to Bangladesh? The ACC investigated the case and submitted a charge sheet to the court. In the charge sheet, the anti-graft watchdog accused Halder of laundering CAD 1.17 crore to Canada through illegal means. A Dhaka court framed charges against the accused on September 8, 2021. On May 13 this year, India's federal economic offences police arrested PK Halder and his two associates from the eastern state of West Bengal. He is now in an Indian jail. Read more:Trial of graft case against PK Halder begins

Nine Bangladeshi teenage girls returned to the country via the Benapole border on Friday after serving a two-year jail term in India. They were handed over to Benapole Immigration Police through a special travel permit, said Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Benapole Check-post Immigration Police. The returnees are--Akhi Khatun, 16, Priya Das, 18, Riya Biswas, 19, Shanti Das, 17, Mithu Begum ,19, Sonia Akter, 18, Shirina Akter, 17, Bithi Khatun, 18 and Banu Khatun, 16. They are residents of Dhaka, Narail, Satkhira and Patuakhali districts. Sonia Akter, one of the returnees said, they went to India through different borders of Jashore with help of brokers two and half years ago in search of work. Indian police arrested them while working at home in India's Hyderabad and a court later sentenced them to two years in jail. After the completion of their jail sentences, they were kept at a local Shelter Home, Sonia added. Jashore Justice and Care Centre and Mahila Ain Samiti will receive them from the police and they will hand them over to their respective family members, said the OC.

Four Bangladeshi women have returned home after languishing in Indian jails for nearly three years. The four were handed over to the Benapole immigration police by India’s Petrapole immigration authorities at the land border on Tuesday evening. The women have been identified as Tanjila Akter, 23, Sabira Khatun, 20, Shilpi Khatun, 26, and Rahima Khatun, 27, belonging to Jashore and Gazipur districts. Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Benapole immigration police, said all of them sneaked into India in the hope of bagging well-paid jobs three years ago. Later, they were arrested by Indian police and remanded in judicial custody by courts. The decision to return them was taken following an intervention of the home ministries of the two countries, sources said.

Love knows no boundaries, and 22-year-old Bangladeshi woman Krishna Mandal's story is the perfect example -- one that has all the ingredients of a Bollywood blockbuster. Suffused with courage and filled with hope, Krishna swam across the border to marry her boyfriend in India. However, her quest for love eventually landed her in jail in the eastern Indian state of Bengal. Also read: Bangladeshi women choosing trained midwives for safe childbirth: Studies In fact, the duo recently met on Facebook, fell in love and decided to tie the knot -- a tale that will make Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg a happy man. As Abhik did not have a passport, Krishna reportedly decided to take a strenuous journey to meet him. She swam across the Malta river for over an hour and made her way to the Sunderbans to finally reach India. Abhik, who was waiting for her in Kaikhali village of West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, whisked her off to the 'City of Joy' (Kolkata) in a car, where they got married in a temple. Also read: It is better to have loved and married, than surrendered to cancer As the news became viral on WhatsApp, Kolkata Police soon took her into custody for illegally entering India. "She has been remanded in judicial custody by a court and we will soon apprise the Bangladesh High Commission of the arrest," a police officer told the local media.

Thirty-eight Bangladeshi children returned from India through Benapole after a two-year imprisonment for illegal entry.

Forty-two Bangladeshis, including women and children, returned home through the Shewla border on Monday after serving different terms in an Indian prison.

Seven Bangladeshi young men returned home from India through the Benapole land port on Wednesday night after spending two years in jail.