18 kids back after languishing in Indian jail

Indian authorities returned 18 children, who languished in jail for four years for entering the country illegally, to Bangladesh authorities at Jessore’s Benapole on Monday. Border Security Force (BSF) of India and its immigration police handed over the children to Bangladeshi immigration police at the check post in the evening. Officer-in-charge Jahangir Alam of immigration police of Benapole said human traffickers had promised to send the 18 children to different countries, including Pakistan, with lucrative jobs but later they took them to India through different border points four years ago. At one stage, they were detained by the members of India’s law enforcement agencies and they had been kept in a prison there where they languished for four years. Later, the Indian authorities decided to return the children to Bangladesh through travel permit. Dhaka Ahsania Mission and Bangladesh Jatiya Mohila Ainjibi Samity received the children. The returnees were identified as Harunur Rashid, 17, Babu Mandal, 13, Sabuj Hossain, 15, Omit Ghosh, 14, Shariar Dipu, 13, Ali Hossain, 19, Noyon Hossain, 13, Joshim Hawlader, 18, Abdur Rahman, 11, Khorshed Alam, 19, Mamunur Rashid, 18, Milon Sheikh, 17, Al-Amin, 16, ‘Rakesh’, 14, Mainur Rahman, 15, Sumon Hossain, 14, Bijoy Biswas, 13, and Gaffar. They hail from different villages of Cox’s Bazar, Satkhira, Narayanganj, Khulna and Pirojpur districts, according to UNB.