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Twenty-six women and a child have returned to Bangladesh after serving jail terms in India on charges of trespass.
The Petrapole Immigration Police handed the women and the child over to Bangladesh authorities at Benapole in presence of the officials from Border Guards Bangladesh and the immigration police on Thursday night, said local police chief Abul Bashar.
Those who returned are: Asma Khatun, Muskan Begum, Sohana Abid, Munni Akhter, Sumi Akhter, Mahamuda Begum from Narail, Khushi Gazi, Laboni Akhter, Rafiza Begum, Rehena Akhter, Eti Khatun, Shaban Ibrahim, Brishti Akhter from Khulna, Liza Khatun, Halima Akhter, Sharifa Akhter from Mymensingh, Parul Begum from Thakurgaon, Seema Akhter from Rajbari, Nazma Akhter from Gazipur, Ria Khatun from Tangail, Farzina Sarder from Narayanganj, Shirina Jahangir, Shahana Ferdous from Satkhira, Jamila Khatun, Maya Khatun from Jashore, Halima Begum from Bhola and a two-year-old child.
The women are aged between 19 and 40 years.
Three women were handed to a human rights organisation, named ‘Rights’ in Jashore and the rest of them to the Justice and Care, after completion of the legal procedures, said Rabiul Islam, Sub-inspector of Benapole Port Police Station. The organisations would take the women to their families, he said.
Some women were illegally trafficked to India with promises of good jobs about two years ago, and some of them five years ago, said Towfiquzzaman, information and investigation officer in the human rights organisation ‘Rights.’
Police detained them as they were looking for jobs. The court sentenced them to varying jail terms, reports bdnews24.
A human rights organisation ‘Rescue Foundation,’ kept the Bangladeshi citizens in its custody after they had served their jail terms, said Towfiquzzaman.
The trafficked women will be given legal assistance if they want to file a case on the incident, he said.