20 Bangladeshis return from India

These women and children were detained in various safe homes in West Bengal

Twenty Bangladeshi women and children, who were detained at various times upon entering or while in India, have been repatriated to Bangladesh on Tuesday, Apr 30, 2024.

Twenty Bangladeshi women and children, who were detained at various times upon entering or while in India, have been repatriated to Bangladesh.

On Tuesday, at 4:30pm Bangladesh time, the government of West Bengal facilitated their repatriation at the Benapole border in Jashore.

A press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the repatriation was a joint effort by the foreign ministry, the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata, and the Special Task Force on the Prevention of Trafficking of Women and Children in West Bengal.

The statement said, "At various times, these Bangladeshi women and children, who were victims of human trafficking and deception, were detained during entry and residence in India and were housed in various safe homes in West Bengal.

"Later, with the cooperation of the West Bengal government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata, jointly verified the nationality of these Bangladeshi women and children residing in various safe homes and issued travel permits to safely return them to Bangladesh.”

During the repatriation, Minister Counsellor Sikder Mohammad Ashrafur Rahman of the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata, Director Bidosh Chandra Barman of the South Asia Division of the foreign ministry, along with local sub-district administration, police, sub-district women and children affairs officers, and representatives of the Border Guard Bangladesh were present.