Five Indians, all Muslims, 'illegally' languish in Bangladesh jail, await repatriation

As many as six Indian citizens, all of them Muslims and aged around 20, have been languishing in Bangladesh prisons, even though five of them have completed their jail term, a senior human rights defender based in West Bengal has said, alleging, the Indian authorities have shown no sympathy towards towards their timely repatriation, resulting in "irreparable loss and injury" to the victims' life and liberty.
Bringing this to light, Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), and national convenor, Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), has asked the chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to take "immediate action" for taking back five of those who have completed their conviction period.
Giving details of each of them, Roy, in a letter to the NHRC chairman, said, Mohammad Jalil Miya, 20, resident of Puran Kanai, Hat Singimari, Mainkarchar, Dhubri, Assam, was arrested on October 18, 2020 by the Bangladesh Police under section 4 of the Bangladesh Control of Entry Act, 1952. Judicial Magistrate, 4th Court, Kurigram, sentenced him for three months' conviction and fine Rs. 1000 and 15 days more imprisonment for non-payment of the fine. His term of conviction expired on January 3, 2021.
The second person is Nurujaman, resident of Kanaimara, Hat Singrimari, Dhubri, Assam, arrested on March 16, 2021 by Bangladesh Police, also under the same law. He was sentenced for 2 months and 15 days, and fine Rs. 1,000, and 10 days more imprisonment for non-payment of the fine. His term of conviction expired on June 9, 2021.
The third person is Mohammad Taiyab Ali, resident of Dipchwar, Dakshin Salmara, Dhubri, Assam. He was arrested on April 2, 2021, and was sentenced for 10 months' conviction and Rs 1,000, or 10 days more for non-payment of the fine. His term of conviction expired on February 1, 2022.
The fourth person is Mohammed Saha Alam, resident of Kanaimara, Hat Singimari, Mainkarchar, Dhubri, Assam. He was arrested on March 3, 2021, and was he was sentenced for 3 months' conviction and fine Rs 1,000 or 15 days more imprisonment for non-payment of the fine. His term expired on October 18, 2021
The fifth person is Mohammed Jahangir Alam, resident of at Kanaimara, Mainkarchak, Dhubri, Assam. He was arrested on October 18, 2020, and sentenced for 3 months' conviction and fine Rs 1000, and 15 days more imprisonment for non-payment of the fine. His term of conviction expired on January 19, 2021.
The letter says, "These five Indians have been stuck in Bangladesh prison after expiration of their term of conviction and till date they are not released. That means more than 2 to 15 months have passed in connection with the concerned cases, still they are in prison like Jaan Khalas. Their term of the conviction was ended but they were not released and repatriated to their homeland in India."
Calling these "illegal detentions", Roy says, it is an "attack upon their life and liberty", suspecting, these five victims have be subjected to "degrading human condition in jail as they are illegally detained". He regrets, in the case of these five victims, "The authorities concerned are not at all sympathetic towards timely disposal of the repatriation and bring back them to their homeland resulting in irreparable loss and injury to the victim’s life and liberty."
A sixth victim, says Roy, is Mohammed Harech Ali Babu, resident of Nilkhira Patua, Sukhchar, Dhubri, Assam, ho was arrested on October 18, 2021. He has been sentenced for one year conviction and a fine of Rs 2,000 or 15 days' more imprisonment for non-payment of the fine. His term of conviction will expired on October 17, 2022.
Insists Roy, the authorities should ensure, he is "repatriated to his own country without further any delay after expiration of his term of conviction."

Comments

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Search This Blog