Trafficked Bangladeshis return from India after prison terms, one jailed for 15 years

Eighteen Bangladeshi trafficking victims, including a woman who spent 15 years in an Indian prison, returned home through the Benapole border on Wednesday after serving jail terms in India.

The group — six men, nine women and three children — was handed over by Indian immigration authorities at Petrapole to Benapole Immigration Police around 5 pm under special travel permits issued by the Indian government.

The returnees are from Jashore, Khulna, Panchagarh, Satkhira, Thakurgaon, Gopalganj, Barishal, Narsingdi, Chattogram, Dinajpur and Lalmonirhat.

Benapole Immigration Police Officer-in-Charge Saifur Rahman said the Bangladeshis had crossed into India illegally at different times after being lured by brokers with promises of jobs.

They were arrested while working in households and agricultural fields in and around Kolkata and subsequently convicted of illegal entry. Their prison sentences ranged from six months to three years.

One woman, identified as Anju Begum, however, spent 15 years in prison, Rahman said.

After completing their sentences, the Bangladeshis were taken to shelter homes with the assistance of a Kolkata-based human rights organisation. Their repatriation was later arranged through cooperation between authorities of the two countries.

The return is the latest in a series of repatriations through Benapole involving Bangladeshis who entered India irregularly, often after being lured by brokers or traffickers.

At least 21 Bangladeshis returned through Benapole in March 2025 after serving two-year prison terms, while another seven were repatriated the following month after spending six years in an Indian prison. 

Thirty Bangladeshi trafficking victims were repatriated through Benapole in November 2025, while 20 trafficked children returned in May this year. Earlier documented repatriations include 13 Bangladeshis in July 2024 and groups of 10 and nine in separate returns in 2023. 

The practice goes back further. In March 2022, 23 Bangladeshi women and children were repatriated through Benapole. That was described at the time as the fifth large-scale repatriation since January 2021, following earlier groups of 38, 37, 20 and 21 people — at least 139 people across those five operations alone. 

Justice and Care and Rights Jashore received Wednesday's returnees from Benapole Port Police Station and placed them in a shelter home pending reunification with their families, according to Justice and Care Senior Programme Officer Muhit Hossain.

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