Delhi HC directs Centre to contact students stranded in Bangladesh, ensure amenities

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the central government to contact the Indian students stranded in Bangladesh amid the coronavirus lockdown and ensure they are getting basic amenities and medical attention.

The High Court also directed the Centre to direct its nodal officers to contact all the medical colleges where Indian students are living and to ensure that they are getting enough food.

The matter will be taken up for further hearing on April 3.

During the hearing on a petition filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal through video conferencing, the court also inquired whether the petition was in touch with the Indian students, to which Bansal said that he is in touch with the citizens through Twitter and WhatsApp.

The petition sought directions to the Ministry of External Affairs to evacuate the Indian medical students who are stranded in Bangladesh and appoint Nodal Officers in all the Indian embassies and make public their contact information so people can contact them.

In the plea, Bansal said that he had received a lot of calls from students seeking help in evacuating Kashmiri students facing extreme difficulty in Bangladesh during the lockdown.

"It has been learned that there are around 581 such students in Bangladesh whose welfare and wellbeing is at stake and looking for help from the Indian authorities," the plea said.