Agartala: The Unokoti district administration of North Tripura raised alarm on Sunday after police failed to produce three of the four Bangladeshi nationals for repatriation who were arrested at Kailashahar in March 2020 on their way to Assam without any valid documents.
Police found three women from Bangladesh missing from the government accommodation at the eleventh hour. However, they remained traceless even after 24 hours of their absence in the hostel. The district magistrate of Unokoti U K Chakma sought a report from the police to describe how the ladies went away from the police security.
According to police, just before clamping nationwide lockdown due to spread of Coronavirus, a resident of Moulavibazar district of Northern Bangladesh identified as Istamur Ali was detained with three women – Lalmati Rani Sarkar, Janata Rani Sarkar and Khela Rani Sarkar of Nabiganj under Habiganj district of Bangladesh at Paiturbazar.
They sneaked into Indian territory through an uncared stretch in the northern border of Kailashahar on their way to Assam. Investigation revealed that Ali was accompanying the ladies to meet their respective relatives in Assam.
Meantime, everything got stuck due to lockdown and they were landed in jail, police said. After a long hearing the court released them from the jail at the end of the year and asked the state government to process their repatriation.
The district administration had arranged their accommodation at a hostel meant for SC students near Kailashahar police station. While Kailashahar sub-divisional magistrate was made responsible for the food and other logistics, Officer-in-charge of the police station was assigned for their security.
In the yearlong formalities of the external affairs ministry and Assistant high commission of Bangladesh here, their identity and relatives have been established in Bangladesh. Accordingly, they were scheduled to be pushed back to their homeland on Sunday.
The Deputy Commissioner of Moulavibazar along with the family members had reached the border to accept them but except Istamur Ali police couldn’t produce others.
The incident upset the Tripura government and Bangladesh authorities raised a strong objection to the report where the administration could not place any reasonable justification over the absence of three.
