The 25 Bangladeshis, who were detained by Assam police for violating their tourist visa conditions, returned home today. They returned following an order by an Indian court on Saturday, said SM Abraham Lincoln, a public prosecutor in Kurigram court and also convener of the Bangladesh-India Border Victim Rescue Committee. All 25 Bangladeshis are residents of Beparipara village under Ramna union at Chilmari upazila in Kurigram, he said. They arrived at Bangladesh’s Burimari check post in Lalmonirhat around 2:30 pm from India’s Changrabandha check post in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, reports our Lalmonirhat correspondent. They were received by relatives at the zero Line of Burimari-Changrabandha border. Sub Inspector (SI) Anwar Hossain, in-charge of immigration police at Burimari check post, said that the Indian immigration police handed over the 25 Bangladeshi nationals to the Bangladesh immigration police after scrutinising documents at the Changrabandha check post in India. “After processing all the documents as per the official rules, we have handed over 25 Bangladeshi nationals to their relatives,” he said. Alam Hossain, one of the returnees said, “I am very happy to be back in the country after about eight months. It’s nice to see relatives and family members up close. I went to India legally on a tourist visa in December last year. I used to go to India and work on a farm there with the help of my relatives,” he added. Manik Miah, another Bangladeshi who returned today, said that he is very happy to come back to his motherland. “I also went to India on a tourist visa in January,” he said. Public Prosecutor Abraham Lincoln also said that the Indian prosecution agreed to call off the case — under the violation of visa rules filed against the 25 Bangladeshis — following the request of Bangladesh government. In this context, after hearing the lawyers of all the parties, the judge of the Dhubri court acquitted the 25 Bangladeshis, he said. Twenty-six fishermen from Chilmari’s Ramna union went to India with valid passports and visas, from December 2019 to February 2020. When they entered India, the country’s sudden lockdown put them in a difficult position. They were trying to get to the border to return to Bangladesh on May 2 when they were arrested by India’s Dhubri district police of Assam. After coronavirus tests, they were sent for institutional quarantine. When their visa expired, Indian police arrested them and sent them to jail. One of the 26 Bangladeshis — Bokul Miah — died in the Indian jail on July 1. Four days later, his body was sent back to Bangladesh.