Hasina to try taking Salahuddin to third country

Wife of BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed, currently in the Shillong Civil Hospital in India's Meghalaya state, wants to move him to a ‘third country’ for treatment.

Dillip Kumar Sharmabdnews24.com
Published : 19 May 2015, 05:18 AM
Updated : 21 May 2015, 11:18 AM

However, Indian police see little chances of that happening with Ahmed facing a case for illegal trespass.

The BNP leader,  who went missing from Dhaka on Mar 10, was arrested in Shillong on May 11 for travelling to India without valid document.

The former state minister was initially admitted to a mental hospital as police found his behaviour awkward.

But later he was taken to Shillong Civil Hospital where his wife and former MP Hasina Ahmed met him on Monday evening.

Hasina, who travelled a long distance to meet her husband, could barely spend 15 minutes with him — a brief encounter heavy with emotion.

When coming out from the hospital after her visit, Hasina Ahmed said, “My husband is very ill. We will try to take him to a third country for better treatment.”

East Khasi Hills district SP M Kharkhrang said Hasina arrived in Shillong on Monday evening and sought permission to meet her husband. “We allowed her to meet him,” he said.

The SP, however, said there was no question of letting off the former Bangladesh minister because he had been arrested for violating the Foreigners Act.

File Photo

“There is no question of releasing Ahmed. We are following all legal procedures,” he added.

A senior lawyer well versed in cases over violation of the Foreigners Act said that after he was produced before the court, he would be placed under judicial custody, which means he would be lodged in jail.

The maximum punishment for illegal entry is imprisonment for five years.

The lawyer said that if the government appealed before the court for his extradition, the matter will be examined by the court.

Meghalaya police chief Rajiv Mehta said if the government appealed for Ahmed's extradition, the police would put the matter before the court.

After meeting her husband, Hasina expressed her gratitude to the Government of India and the Meghalaya police  for “saving her husband's life” and providing him good medical treatment.

Hasina had reached the north-eastern state of Meghalaya from Dhaka via Kolkata.

File Photo

During the brief meeting on Monday, Ahmed enquired about his children. He told his wife that he wanted to go back home to his children. Both became so emotional during the meeting that they were unable to discuss anything else.

Hasina, reached Guwahati Airport from Kolkata in a Jet Airways flight at around 2pm on Monday.

From there, she drove to Shillong, reaching the hill town in the evening. Hasina also had to visit the City SP’s office for permission to meet her husband.

There, her documents were checked and cleared. She, along with BNP Assistant Office Secretary Abdul Latif Jony, met Ahmed at 8:10 pm.