Seventy one out of 265 Bangladeshi Tabligh Jamaat members, who were punished by the Indian courts for taking part in an Islamic congregation in Delhi in March violating visa and coronavirus rules, have returned home so far through Benapole land port, multiple sources have told Dhaka Tribune.
Since August 9, 40 Tabligh members crossed the border after spending time in jails and paying fines in India, and were sent to institutional quarantine in Jessore’s Jhikargacha upazila for 14 days.
“Yes, a number of Tabligh Jamaat members have crossed the border in the last few days,” Ahsan Habib, officer-in-charge of Benapole immigration, told this correspondent on Sunday, without specifying the exact number.
“All those arrived have been sent to the designated place for institutional quarantine,” he said.
Arafat Rahman, the upazila nirbahi officer of Jhikargacha, said: “Since August 9, 40 Tabligh Jamaat members have been placed in institutional quarantine.”
On August 7, 14 members crossed the border and 17 arrived on August 9.
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Meanwhile, Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Toufique Hasan informed that cases against the 265 Tabligh members had been disposed of.
As cases against them have been disposed of and the Indian authorities cleared them, they are free to return home, he said.
It could not be ascertained as to how many more Tabligh members are still facing cases in Indian court.
Despite repeated attempts, the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi could not be reached.
Earlier, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs had blacklisted 2,550 Tabligh Jamaat members from Bangladesh on the charges of violating the visa and coronavirus related rules. Usually, the blacklisting means a bar on travel to India for a decade.
