Ten Bangladeshi women returned home through Benapole land port on Friday night after serving two to three years in an Indian prison for illegally entering the country.
Petrapole Immigration Police in India handed them over to Benapole Immigration Police around 8:00pm under a special travel permit, UNB reports.
The women were identified as Tumpa Begum, Sumi Khatun, Sabina Begum, Nurbanu, Halima Khatun, Tonni Akter, Munni Akter, Jannati Khatun, Shirina Khatun and Samia Akter. They are from Khulna, Jashore, Narail, Faridpur and Chandpur districts.
Saifur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Benapole Immigration Police, said the women had crossed into India illegally five years ago with the help of human traffickers in search of jobs. They later worked as domestic workers in Pune, Maharashtra.
Indian police arrested them, and a court sentenced them to two to three years in Pune Central Jail. After completing their sentences, an Indian human rights organisation kept them in a shelter home while officials from the two countries’ embassies arranged their return to Bangladesh.
The women were first handed over to Benapole Port Police Station.
Rights organisation Justice and Care later received them to arrange reunions with their families, said Muhit Hossain, the organisation’s deputy manager in Jashore.
