Former MP and joint secretary general of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Salahuddin Ahmed is in Meghalaya police’s custody for illegal entry into India and a case under Foreigners’ Act registered here in the State Capital today.
Additional Director General of Police, SK Jain told the Assam Tribune that Ahmed was found in a “disoriented state” and had no documents on him when he was found.
He said a case has been registered under the Foreigners’ Act, 1946 as he had no documents to prove his citizenship. “We will not say he has been arrested, but definitely he is under our custody,” Jain said when asked.
The additional director general of police said the case is being looked into from “various dimensions” and appropriate steps are being taken to handle this sensitive case.
In fact, Ahmed was first seen loitering suspiciously in Golf links area in the State Capital on Monday and was alerted by the local residents after which he was taken into custody. The police interrogated him and he admitted that he is a Bangladesh citizen and was a former MP.
However, when the police found him a bit disoriented he was referred to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), but the institute confirmed he was mentally sound. He is now lodged at the Shillong Civil hospital earmarked for under trail prisoners.
For the past two months Ahmed went missing from Dhaka and his whereabouts were not known with speculation that he was arrested by the plainclothes men in Dhaka.
Ahmed’s wife Hasina Ahmed ran an extensive campaign and even sought Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s assistance to locate him. There BNP held numerous hartals in Dhaka to help locate Ahmed.
Meanwhile, Ahmed who spoke to some media persons here alleged he was kidnapped from Utarra area in Dhaka on March 10. Ahmed said he doesn’t recall how he came to Shillong and landed in the hospital.
On the other hand, police official said that Ahmed’s case has been intimated to the Central Government for further action after verifying his credentials from the Bangladesh embassy. However, many are tight-lipped about the duration Ahmed was staying in the State Capital or when he entered into the country.
The arrest of Ahmed in the country has once again exposed the gaping holes in India’s security network. Questions are being raised how and when Ahmed sneaked into the country hoodwinking the vast security apparatus deployed all along the 443-km International border with Meghalaya shares with Bangladesh.
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