Myanmar yesterday repatriated 155 Bangladeshi people including nine children, who had been rescued at sea on May 29 on their way to Malaysia illegally.
Myanmar’s immigration department and Border Guard Police (BGP) handed them over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel after a brief flag meeting at Bekubunia BGP camp in Maungdaw.
The BGB delegation, led by BGB 17 Commanding Officer Lt Col Md Rabiul Islam, returned to the country with the identified Bangladeshis around 3:30pm through the Ghumdhum border in Naikkhyangchhari upazila of Bandarban, says a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After the handover process, Sha Naing, assistant director of Maungdaw Immigration and National Registration Department, claimed that there were 379 more Bangladeshis among the 727 people rescued by its Navy on May 29.
Cox’s Bazar BGB Sector Commander Col Manik Rahman said they would bring back the Bangladeshis after scrutinising their identities.
The Myanmar authorities on June 8 and 19 handed over 150 and 37 Bangladeshis – rescued from its sea area on May 21.
Among the 155 repatriated people, 40 are from Narayanganj, 26 from Sirajganj, 15 from Jhenidah, 15 from Madaripur while the others are from different districts, National Programme Officer of International Organisation for Migration Asif Munier told the Dhaka Tribune.
The BGB authorities later handed the repatriated people over to Cox’s Bazar Additional District Magistrate Sheikh Farid Ahmed and Additional Superintendent of Police Tofayel Ahmed. They were taken to the Cox’s Bazar Cultural Centre by six buses, Munier said.
“After completing police verification, the authorities will quiz them about how they were trafficked from Bangladesh. Then the nine children will be handed over to their families by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society while others will be given money to return to their families,” Munier added.
