Staff Reporter :
Myanmar Immigration Department has handed 155 Bangladeshis to Border Guard Bangladesh [BGB] on Wednesday morning. The Myanmar Navy rescued them in the Bay of Bengal on May 29.
The hand over programme took place at a flag meeting in Dhekubnia camp of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police [BGP] at Ghumdhum zero point border at around 11:00 am on Wednesday.
There after the BGB officials handed over them to Cox’s Bazar Additional District Magistrate Sheikh Farid Ahmed and Cox’s Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police Tofayel Ahmed.
BGB-17 Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Rabiul Islam led the BGB team in the flag meeting. “We have brought back 155 people after identifying them as Bangladeshis,” Rabiul Islam said.
Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release said that the 155 Bangladeshis were brought back through Gumdum border in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release confirmed the news.
Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar M Ali Hossain said that Myanmar’s BGP handed 155 Bangladeshi migrants to BGB delegation in a flag meeting.
“The Bangladesh government has decided to repatriate the 155 Bangladeshis completing the police verification,” the DC said.
Earlier, the Myanmar authorities sent a list of 528 people desiring to return to Bangladesh. The government identified 155 of them, as Bangladeshi nationals after the police verification.
The Bangladeshis were reportedly going to Malaysia and Thailand by sea illegally.
Superintendent of Police Shaymol Kumar Nath said that they would be kept at Cox’s Bazar Cultural Centre. “The Bangladeshis will return to their families after police verification on Thursday,” the SP said.
On June 8 and 19, the Myanmar authorities handed 150 and 37 Bangladeshis. With the return of 155, the total number of repatriated Bangladeshi nationals from Myanmar stood at 342.
The repatriation process was overseen by the foreign ministry by maintaining close coordination with the Home Ministry, BGB, local police and local district administration.
