Salahuddin entered India intentionally: Chargesheet

BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed has ‘intentionally’ entered into India to avoid trial in Bangladesh over several cases filed against him, Maghalaya police have told court.

They submitted a chargesheet against the former junior minister before the court of the additional deputy commissioner (judicial) in Shillong on Wednesday.

Police’s Sub-Inspector P Lamare, the investigating officer, pressed charges against Ahmed under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act for entering India without any valid documents, a senior police official said.

Police completed the investigation into the case, added the official, who declined to be named for the story.

However, the chargesheet did not mention how the BNP leader managed to cross the international border even if it was intentional.

Meghalaya shares a 443km border with Bangladesh with some portions yet to be fenced.

The BNP leader was found moving around at Golf Link in Shillong on May 11.

He was then arrested for entering India illegally and was booked under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act.

Lamare refused to divulge case details.

But police sources privy to the investigation said they did not believe the BNP leader’s claim of being unaware of how he landed up in Shillong after being abducted in Bangladesh.

After his arrest, Salahuddin had told Meghalaya police that he was abducted on March 10 from Dhaka's Uttara by some unidentified people.

After that, he reportedly had no recollection of how he reached Shillong, crossing the border.

His captors had allegedly kept him blindfolded until he was finally released in Shillong.

According to a police source, they do not believe the BNP leader's version of the incident.

It now seems that Ahmed conspired the entire episode in collaboration with someone to 'intentionally' enter India to escape investigation by the police in Bangladesh.

The police are of the opinion that his statement “seems more like a story,” he said.

Meghalaya police may have completed their investigation, but it still remains a mystery how Ahmed could enter the country without valid papers crossing the border.

Ahmed is currently undergoing treatment at Shillong's North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) under judicial custody.

After the chief judicial magistrate’s court heard his case on May 27, the BNP leader was sent to 14 days’ judicial custody. The court also rejected Ahmed's bail plea.

The local court rejected his bail plea after the ‘Red Corner Notice’ was issued against Ahmed by the Interpol's Dhaka office.

Hasina Ahmed, wife of the BNP leader, who is discussing legal options with their lawyer SP Mahanta, is planning to file a bail petition at the Meghalaya High Court.

However, due to the red corner notice, it will be difficult for Ahmed to get bail, legal experts say.

His family members are seeking the bail on medical grounds so that he could be taken to Singapore for better treatment.

Speaking to bdnews24.com recently by telephone before his trip to Sri Lanka, the BNP’s Assistant Office Secretary Abdul Latif Jony said it was important for Ahmed to get bail.

Otherwise, his health condition might deteriorate, according to him.

Jony said they were discussing with their lawyer a move for bail in the High Court. But the matter seems complicated.

Ahmed will be again presented before the court on June 9.