In a pre-dawn swoop on Sunday, Meghalaya police arrested four Awami League functionaries, who had entered India from Bangladesh illegally, from an apartment in New Town, on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata, on the charges of committing robbery and mischief.
The accused were also booked under Foreigners’ Act as they sneaked into the northeast state without valid documents.
Idashisha Nongrang, the director general of police (DGP), Meghalaya, said the four suspects were arrested from Kolkata on the basis of a complaint lodged with Dawki police station in Shillong (case No. 19(10)/24 on October 19. “Since then, the suspects were at large,” said the DGP.
There was a buzz that the four accused were arrested on the charges of gang rape, but the DGP confirmed that there was no allegation of rape.
Police identified the four accused as Nasiruddin Khan, Awami League’s Sylhet district general secretary, Alam Khan Mukti, the party’s youth wing president in Sylhet metropolitan, vice-president Ripon and youth wing member Jewel.
All the four accused were flown to Shillong from Kolkata on Sunday.
“The four Awami League functionaries fled to India from Sylhet after their party was overthrown from Bangladesh’s power and their leader Sheikh Hasina had to leave the country. They were living in a house in Dawki police station area where they allegedly committed a robbery. Acting on a tip-off, we came to know that they were living in an apartment near Eco Park in New Town near Kolkata. The raid was carried out in the wee hours of Sunday and the four were arrested,” said an officer of Dawki police station.
Officers at Baguiati police station said Meghalaya police had sought help from them to conduct the raids. “We assisted them. The Meghalaya police left Kolkata on Sunday afternoon,” said an officer of Baguiati police station.
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