Faulty report forces Pak trip on Bangla men

BHUJ, June 29: Eighteen Bangladeshis detained at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) here for the last 20 months began a hunger strike on S...

BHUJ, June 29: Eighteen Bangladeshis detained at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) here for the last 20 months began a hunger strike on Saturday demanding repatriation to Bangladesh rather than Pakistan, from where they were caught crossing over. One of them attempted suicide on Saturday.

Intruders into Indian territory are normally sent back to their country of origin after clearance by security agencies. The Bangladeshis have been cleared they are described by the authorities as poor, helpless fishermen but in one of the preliminary stages, a police report to the state Home department mistakenly stated they were Pakistanis. Accordingly, the government initiated proceedings to repatriate the men to Pakistan.

Three of the Bangladeshis Mohammed Taiyab Shah, Bardri Biraj Kumar Sharma, and Sabir Ahmed Anipir were caught by Customs officials near Jakhau on October 30, 1996, when their boat allegedly strayed into Indian territorial waters. The boat was seized and they were handed over for interrogationto the JIC.

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The remaining 15 were apprehended by a Border Security Force (BSF) patrol off Lakhi Nala near Koteshwar, near the western tip of Kutch district. Hunu Miya, Babul Mohammed, Alladin Noor Ahmed, Nooresalam Tadir Islam, Mohammed Momin, Abdul Tahir, Abdul Kalan, Kulan Rehman, Joshim Rulla Miya, Anwar Abdul Razak, Mohammed Allaudin, Mohammed Rooshnar Jama, Mohammed Noor Alam, Shah Alam Badshah, and Kalan Idries were also sent to the JIC and their boat seized.

Interrogations by the BSF, the state police, and the intelligence agencies found them innocent. They were officially described as “innocent Bangladeshis harassed by the Pakistani authorities”.