Seventeen Bangladeshi children and teenagers, trafficked to India with promises of jobs, were repatriated on Wednesday through the Benapole border check-post.
They were handed over by India's Petrapole Immigration Police and received by Benapole Immigration Police in Bangladesh, confirmed Officer-in-Charge Elias Hossain Munshi.
The children, aged between 12 and 18, were trafficked illegally to Kolkata in West Bengal through different border routes. They were later detained by Indian police and kept in a shelter in West Bengal, he said.
"After two years, following intervention by the home ministries of both countries, the children were finally returned to Bangladesh today," the OC added.
Upon completion of immigration formalities, the children were transferred to Benapole Port Police Station.
The children will be handed over to their families tomorrow, said Rasel Mia, officer-in-charge of the police station.
Rights Jashore, a human rights organisation, has taken custody of them and will provide legal aid and support before reuniting them with their families, said programme officer Toufikuzzaman.
