Despite completing his sentence nearly four years ago, Bangladeshi convict Badal Farazi remains behind bars, caught in a legal and diplomatic deadlock between Bangladesh and India.
Farazi, who was returned to Bangladesh from India in 2018 under a prisoner exchange agreement, completed 14 years of imprisonment in July 2022 -- the threshold after which life convicts in India can seek release.
However, his freedom now hinges on formal approval from Indian authorities, which has yet to be granted.
Under the bilateral prisoner exchange agreement, neither country can release a transferred prisoner without the consent of the other.
Bangladesh has already sent multiple requests to India seeking Farazi’s release, but officials say the process remains stalled within India’s review system.
Prison authorities in Bangladesh say the release process involves multiple layers -- from the Home Ministry to the Foreign Ministry, then to the Bangladesh High Commission in India, and finally to Indian authorities -- often causing delays that push decisions beyond review deadlines.
Legal experts point to a key contradiction.
While Indian law allows consideration for release after 14 years, Bangladesh’s prison code requires 20 years before such consideration.
Officials say Bangladesh is currently awaiting India’s clearance, without which Farazi cannot be freed.
Farazi’s family has expressed frustration over the prolonged detention, questioning why he remains imprisoned despite completing his sentence.
His sister said their mother, now critically ill, is desperate to see her son one last time.
Farazi’s case has drawn attention over claims he was wrongly convicted in India after being mistaken for another person.
Arrest, conviction and years in prison
Badal Farazi, a Bangladeshi citizen from Bagerhat, was arrested in India in 2008 under circumstances his family and supporters describe as a case of mistaken identity.
Badal had travelled to India on July 13, 2008, after completing immigration formalities at Benapole, reportedly to visit the Taj Mahal.
Shortly after crossing into Haridaspur, he was detained by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) in connection with a murder case.
At the time, Indian authorities were searching for a suspect named Badal Singh in connection with the killing of an elderly woman in Delhi’s Amar Colony on May 6, 2008.
An alert had been issued at border points to apprehend him.
However, Badal Farazi was arrested due to the similarity in names.
According to his family, his inability to communicate in Hindi or English prevented him from explaining that he was not the person being sought.
He was subsequently charged under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and tried in Delhi.
On August 7, 2015, a court in Saket convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment, a verdict later upheld by the Delhi High Court.
Farazi was then sent to Tihar Jail, where he spent years in custody before being repatriated to Bangladesh in 2018 under a prisoner exchange agreement.
