2 Tripura men back after 15-year jail in Bangladesh

Two Indian men returned to their homes in Tripura after spending 15 years in Bangladesh jail on the charges under the Arms Act, the police said on Saturday.

"The BGB (the Border Guard Bangladesh) handed over the two Tripura men -- Prasenjit Debbarma, 42, and Satish Debbarma, 40, -- to the BSF (the Border Security Force) on Friday," a police official said.

Later, the BSF handed them over to police and they were sent back to their homes after questioning, he said.

Prasenjit and Satish, residents of western Tripura's Khowai district, said they went to visit Rema tea garden, situated along the International border between India and Bangladesh in Tripura in 2004. But they unknowingly entered the Bangladesh territory as there was no border fence or demarcation marks.

"The BGB men apprehended us and handed over to the Bangladesh Police. They slapped false charges on us, instead of pushing us back to India," one of the men said.

Later, a Bangladesh court sentenced us to 14-year rigorous imprisonment. Though our jail-term completed a year ago, the authorities did not hand us to the Indian authorities, they said.

They thanked the Indian High Commission in Dhaka for intervening and making their return possible.

--IANS

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