Dropping infiltration charges against 12 Bangladeshi fishermen and releasing them from a West Bengal prison on Tuesday is said to be a diplomatic move by India aiming to bring 84 Indian fishermen back home from Bangladesh’s jails.
The group of 12 fisherfolks from the neighbouring country, who swam to the shore of the Bay of Bengal after their fishing boat capsized a month ago, walked out of Kakdwip prison in South 24 Paraganas district after the West Bengal government dropped the charges which were slapped for crossing the maritime jurisdiction and entering India’s territory illegally.
“The decision to drop the charges against Bangaldeshi fishermen was taken after getting a nod from the Union government. We held a discussion with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and decided to release the group of 12. It is a diplomatic move to bring the 84 fishermen from Bengal back home. They have been in Bangladesh’s prisons since October,” said a senior official of Bengal Government’s Home Department.
Bengal police on Tuesday submitted a prayer in the Kakdwip court on Tuesday seeking permission for dropping the charges against the Bangladeshi fishermen.
“We told the court that they had crossed the maritime jurisdiction and entered India after their fishing boat met with an accident. The court granted our petition and the fishermen were released from jail. They were handed over to the fishery department for sending them back to their country,” said Supratim Sarkar, additional director general of police (south Bengal).
The 12 fishermen were arrested after they swam to Pathar Pratima island. They were caught by the locals and handed over to the police. Since then, they were lodged in the Kakdwip sub-divisional jail as the police booked them under the Foreigners Act, 1946.
Sources in the MEA said India’s decision to release the 12 fishermen will deliver a message to Bengladesh’s interim government.
“It will reflect our positive approach and send a message to our neighbouring country that India is keen to maintain a friendly relationship with them. It is a diplomatic move. Now it is the Bangladesh government’s turn to show a similar gesture. We expect they will release 84 fishermen from Bengal’s Sunderbans who are in jails in Bangladesh,” said an official of the MEA.
On October 13, Bangladesh navy arrested 36 fishermen from Bengal and seized two fishing boats—FB Ma Basanti and FB Jay Jagannath. The arrested fishermen were handed over to Kolapara police station in Bangladesh.
In the same week, Bangladesh Coast Guard personnel seized three fishing boats—FB Abhijit, FB Abhijit-3 and FB Narayan—and arrested 48 more individuals. They were handed over to Bangladesh’s Mongla police station.
The poor families of Indian fishermen in Bangladesh jail repeatedly requested the state administration to intervene and bring them back home.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, in October, had urged the Bangladesh government to release 84 fishermen languishing in Bangladesh jails. The interim government is yet to respond to the Bengal CM’s request.
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