India releases nine Myanmarese prisoners

The Punjab Government has released nine prisoners, including seven children, belonging to Myanmar.

They had been in the Amritsar Central Jail since July 9, 2009.

Noor Hussain, his wife Dilraj Begum, and seven children, including four daughters and three sons, were freed on Tuesday.

They had been arrested under Sections 3,34 and 20 of Indian Passport Act and Section 14 of the Foreign Act for trying to cross into India from Myanmar to earn a livelihood.

The deputy superintendent of the jail, R K Sharma, said: "They are nationals of Myanmar. The Myanmar Government has refused to accept them as according to their laws, they do not accept anyone who leaves the country. We have handed them over to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tarn Taran, and now he will decide."

A daughter of the Myanmarese couple, Masooda, said: "We had left our country to ear our livelihood, as the laws there were useless. We were caught on the Attari border and were sent directly to jail. We were imprisoned for nine months."

Noor Hussain said: "The laws in Burma are not appropriate. I came here to earn and for my sustenance. I was arrested at the Attari border."

India's north-eastern state of Manipur shares a 398-km border with Myanmar. Since 1993, bilateral relations between Burma and India have improved considerably as both the countries made significant efforts to overcome tensions.