West Bengal: Youth who strayed into Bangladesh is back

KOLKATA: A mentally unstable man from Balurghat, who had accidentally crossed over to Bangladesh three years ago and was lodged in jail there, was finally brought home on Tuesday following concerted efforts by social workers and district, state and central officials.
Manik Debnath, now 33, was under treatment for a mental disorder when he had strayed into Bangladesh via Ghasuria-Hili border on March 13, 2018. Since Debnath did not have travel documents, the BGB nabbed him and he was booked for trespassing. A bottle of cough syrup allegedly found on him didn’t work in his favour either.
“We suspected he had crossed over to Bangladesh days after he went missing. Later, we learnt he had been arrested by Bangladesh police and was lodged in jail. We were first informed he would be in jail for a year, but then, his months of serving kept increasing. Had I not received help from social workers, the local MP and government officials, I would have never got to see my son again,” said father Binod Debnath.
The family had got in touch with Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumdar and social worker Sadikul Islam last year, and the ministry of external affairs and the British High Commission in Dhaka were informed. “It was after a year’s effort that Debnath could finally be freed and repatriated to India by the Bangladesh government,” said Majumdar.
South Dinajpur SP Rahul Dey said they received Debnath from the border around 11am on Tuesday and handed him over to his family after finishing formalities, including checking Covid test results.