Journalism of Courage
A court in Bangladesh is set to indict a pregnant Indian woman and three others on charges of entering the country illegally, a move that could pave the way for their repatriation months after they were reportedly pushed in by Indian law enforcement agencies suspecting them of being Bangladeshi nationals, officials said on Saturday.
“Senior judicial magistrate Ashraful Haque has set October 23 for the hearing on charge framing against Sonali Khatun and the three others, alongside two infants. They have been languishing in jail for the past four months,” Chief Public Prosecutor (northwestern) Chapai Nawabganj M Abdul Wadud told PTI.
Wadud said if they plead guilty to the charges during the hearing, it would pave the way for their repatriation. He added that they are “likely to” plead guilty.
The top prosecution lawyer in the district bordering India denied Indian media reports that the court has asked Bangladesh’s deputy high commission in Kolkata to arrange their repatriation.
“I have also talked to the jail officials recently who said Sonali, in her mid-20s, is in the advanced stage of her pregnancy,” he said.
The development came as the Calcutta High Court last month set aside the Centre’s decision to deport the six people to Bangladesh after terming them as “illegal immigrants”.
It also directed the Centre to ensure that they are brought back to India within a month.
The court also rejected the central government’s appeal to grant a temporary stay on the order.
The court’s decision came after hearing habeas corpus petitions about the detention of the six people in Delhi and their deportation to Bangladesh.
A habeas corpus petition is filed seeking direction to produce a person who is missing or has been illegally detained.
The petitioners alleged that the families, working as daily wage earners in Sector 26 of the Rohini area in Delhi for over two decades, were picked up by the police on June 18 on suspicion of being Bangladeshis and subsequently pushed across the border on June 27.
The deportees were then reportedly arrested by the Bangladesh police.
