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Bodies of 8 drowned migrants brought back They were trying to reach Europe via Libya with the help of people smugglers
Published : 03 May 2024, 01:31 AM
The bodies of eight migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea while attempting to reach Europe via Libya have been repatriated to Bangladesh.
On Feb 14, a boat carrying 53 people, including 35 Bangladeshis, departed Libya for Italy.
Nine people, including eight Bangladeshis seeking a better life through people smugglers, died when the boat sank off Tunisia's coast.
A Saudi Airlines flight carrying the bodies landed at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon, where grieving relatives awaited.
The dead were identified as Mamun Sheikh, Sajal Bairagi, Nayan Biswas, Rifat Sheikh, Sajib Kazi, Imrul Kayes Apon, Md Abdus Salam, Kaiser, and Rasel Sheikh. Five of them came from Madaripur, and three from Gopalganj.
On Apr 19, Sunil Bairagi, Sajal's father, filed a murder case against seven individuals and 10 to 15 unidentified persons over the incident.
Airport police are currently investigating the case after receiving the bodies.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Touhidul Islam said, "If post-mortem examinations were conducted earlier or if we receive documents with expert opinions on the cause of death, the bodies will be released to the relatives after an inquiry. Otherwise, we will conduct our own examination to determine the cause of death.”
The bodies have been kept at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
According to a foreign ministry statement, 44 people were rescued after the incident. Among the survivors were 27 Bangladeshis, eight Pakistanis, five Syrians, and four Egyptians. A Pakistani national also died apart from the eight Bangladeshis.
Officials from the Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli collaborated with the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local authorities to conduct post-mortem examinations, identify the deceased, and issue death and medical certificates through local agencies.
The expenses are being covered by the home and law ministries, as well as the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.
The accused individuals include Juboraj Kazi, 24, his father Mosharraf Kazi, 50, Rahim Sheikh, 40, Kamal, 38, Monika, 28, Sabuj, 40, and Wasim Gain, 42, some identified only by their first names.
ADC Touhidul said police arrested the primary suspect, Juboraj, and the fourth suspect, Kamal, after the case was filed.
The plaintiff, Sunil, claimed that their former acquaintance, Juboraj, and his father Mosharraf, who resides in Libya, had promised to help Sunil's son, Sajal, travel to Italy legally in exchange for Tk 1.4 million.
Accordingly, Sajal handed Tk 250,000 and his passport to Juboraj at his Gopalganj home on Nov 17 last year.
Sajal arrived at the airport on Dec 30. Before he left the car at the airport, Jubaraj took another Tk 500,000 from Sajal and he left for Dubai at 6am on Dec 31.
Later, on Jan 8, Sunil went to Juboraj's house and gave an additional Tk 650,000.
However, since then, Sunil has been unable to communicate with his son.
He later discovered through the media that Sajal was one of the eight Bangladeshis who died in a trawler accident while traveling from Libya to Italy between 11:30pm and 4am on Feb 14.
Sunil alleged that this gang unlawfully trafficked these young people from Bangladesh to foreign countries, promising them a better life in exchange for large sums of money. Despite knowing the risk of certain death, they placed them on a small boat and drowned them in the rough sea.
During the handover of the bodies, BRAC officials were also present.
Shariful Hasan, BRAC's associate director for migration and youth platform, said that 11 more Bangladeshis from the boat have returned home.
He hoped the investigation by law enforcement will reveal more details.
