A court in Assam has ordered the release of 25 Bangladeshi nationals who have been languishing in jail amid the pandemic for breaching terms and conditions of visa.
Nahid Hasan Knowledge, former president and organizer of the central executive council of the railway-naval, communication and environment development committee, confirmed the matter.
A Dhubri court relieved the 25 from charges and ordered them to be released, he said.
Hailing from Kurigram’s Chilmari upazila, they went to the neighbouring country on tourist visas and had been working as fishermen and farm workers.
On May 3, Indian police arrested 26 Bangladeshi nationals from Dhubri when they were attempting to return home on two minibuses. They intended to enter Bangladesh through the Changrabandha check post.
Following the arrests, the police filed a case against them alleging that the 26 flouted visa conditions by engaging in work that their visas did not permit. Since then, they have been languishing in jail.
Indian High Court lawyer Asim Das Gupta and Dhubri court lawyer Rajsvi Das Gupta fought a legal battle on behalf of the detained Bangladeshis.
On July 1, one of the Bangladeshis in custody, Bakul Mia passed away. His body was sent back to his relatives in Bangladesh four days later.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh authorities took the initiative to bring the detained nationals and requested their Indian counterpart over the issue.
Responding to the request, the Indian authorities decided to withdraw the case.
