Benapole: Twenty Bangladeshi children who were trafficked to India and later completed prison terms for illegal entry have returned home through the Benapole checkpost under special travel permits. The children were handed over to Bangladesh immigration authorities by India’s Petrapole immigration police on Wednesday evening. The returnees comprise 13 girls and seven boys.
According to United News of Bangladesh, officials said the children are from Jashore, Narail, Khulna, and Bagerhat districts. Benapole Immigration Police Officer-in-Charge Shakhawat Hossain stated that the children had entered India illegally in early 2024 through brokers, accompanied by their parents. Their parents were later involved in domestic and agricultural work in West Bengal.
In late 2025, Indian authorities detained the children, and a court subsequently convicted them for illegal entry, sentencing them to various terms of imprisonment. Following the completion of their prison terms, they were placed in several shelter homes in West Bengal with the intervention of a human rights organisation.
The children were repatriated on Wednesday evening through special travel permits, facilitated by cooperation between authorities from both countries. After completing immigration procedures, the children were handed over to Benapole Port Police Station. Officer-in-Charge of Benapole Port Police Station, Ashraf Hossain, mentioned that they were subsequently handed over to three human rights organisations – Justice and Care, Women Lawyers’ Association, and Rights Jashore – which will reunite them with their families after completing formalities.