Over 160 Indians stuck in Bangladesh jail despite completing term, awaiting return

Of the 238 Indians lodged in Bangladesh's jails, 168 have completed their sentences but remain detained awaiting repatriation, according to a media report. The Indian High Commission, however, says only 25 verified Indians are awaiting return, with nationality verification holding up other cases.

In Short

• 238 Indians in Bangladesh jails, 168 await repatriation
• Indian mission says only 25 verified nationals await return
• Inadequate identity details delay verification of prisoners

Bangladesh has at least 407 foreigners from 15 countries in its jails for crimes ranging from drug and human trafficking to gold smuggling and illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) businesses. Over 50% of the imprisoned foreigners are Indians, with more than half of them having completed their term and eligible for repatriation, according to a Bangladeshi media report.

"India accounts for the largest number [of foreigners in Bangladeshi jails], with 238 prisoners, including 168 who have completed their sentences but remain detained because arrangements for their return have yet to be completed," reported The Daily Star on Friday.

However, an official of the Consular Wing of the High Commission of India (HCI) in Dhaka told the Dhaka-based newspaper that only 25 verified Indians jailed in Bangladesh were awaiting repatriation after completing their terms.

The problem seems to be in ascertaining the identity and ensuring that they are indeed Indians.

The Indian high commission official said the foreign ministry of Bangladesh had shared lists of what it claimed were 121 Indian prisoners who had completed their jail terms.

"However, the personal particulars of the majority of these reportedly Indian prisoners are insufficient to enable verification of their Indian nationality," the official told The Daily Star, adding that the high commission had sought access to these prisoners.

The high commission official said it was awaiting a response from Bangladesh's foreign ministry, while in some cases the process to verify the nationality was on.

In June, PTI reported that there were 148 Indians among 152 foreigners in Bangladesh's jails awaiting repatriation after completing their sentences, according to prison statistics published six months ago.

An official had then said that the identification process, alongside bureaucratic or diplomatic inaction, prolonged their captivity.

With 133 in jails, prisoners from Myanmar form the second-biggest cohort, but only one of them is awaiting repatriation after completing their sentence, according to The Daily Star. The remaining prisoners include six Nigerians, and three each from Pakistan and Malaysia, according to the report.

Foreign prisoners are reportedly kept in separate cells for security reasons and the areas outside their wards are monitored by CCTV cameras. And prison officials told The Daily Star that the detention of foreign prisoners who had completed their terms was "creating logistical difficulties and imposing additional costs on the government".

- Ends
(Written by Sushim Mukul)