REPORT in a national daily on Tuesday said 81 migrant workers were sent to jail on September 1 upon their return from Vietnam without allowing them to join their families after so many ordeals abroad. Traffickers sent them to Vietnam late last year and early this year but they were not provided with work permit and put to temporary low paid jobs and many were even jobless.
The Vietnam authorities repatriated them in mid-August for illegal stay but Bangladesh police sent the returnees to jail after 14 days quarantine showing them arrested under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) however without being formally charged. Police said the returnees were sentenced abroad and have tarnished the country’s image. They planned sabotage while in quarantine and moreover impacted overseas job market.
The same report has also cited the case of another 1,293 migrants who returned from the Middle East and were sent to jail between July and September this year. Police cited similar reasons for showing them arrested without formally charged. As per law and Supreme Court directive, a person can be arrested under the Section 54 only if there is any specific allegation, but there is nothing as such in their case and yet they are now languishing in jail.
It is almost clear police are acting in nexus with traffickers to keep the returnees in jail, least they can immediately raise claim for return of money that they have paid to traffickers and reparation of other damages. It is unfortunate that poor migrants at home and abroad are not getting protection of law and powerful people are exploiting them taking cover of law. But they are sending remittance to feed the millions. Need no mention that a ruling party MP is now facing trial in Kuwait for misusing immigration law and human trafficking but our Minister for Manpower reported to have said he can’t be harsh with manpower agents involved with sending people to Vietnam in the Covid pandemic period.
We would demand how the traffickers got the clearance of Bureau of Manpower Export and Training and airport immigration without valid work permit. The persons responsible must be caught and put on trial. We would also say the ill-fated victims must be freed immediately to join their families.
