11 Rohingyas detained while entering Bangladesh through Kurigram border

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained eleven Rohingyas early Friday while they were attempting to re-enter Bangladesh through the Sonahat land port border in Bhurungamari upazila. They were picked up around 6am from the roadside along the Sonahat–Kochakata road.

Among the detainees are five adults and six children. They have been identified as Rabiul Islam, 24, his wife Razia Begum, 21, and their two-and-a-half-year-old child from Kutupalong camp in Ukhiya; Shafiullah, 18; Nur Nabi, 15; Amina Begum, 35; Abdul Aziz, 15; Iman Ali alias Ismail Azad, 48; and three other children aged nine, seven and six from Balukhali camp.

According to BGB sources, the detainees had illegally crossed into India about eight years ago in search of work and had been living in the Kanchanbagh area of Hyderabad. Their families remain in Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The Sonahat BGB patrol team took them into custody and later handed them over to Bhurungamari Police Station. Officer-in-Charge Al Helal Mahmud said the detainees would be sent back to Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar after verification of their information.