By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,
Kolkata/Coochbehar: Two Yemeni citizens Ahmed Sale and Ali Alwali Abdullah were freed on February 14, after the district court of Coochbehar in West Bengal gave judgement in their favour.
The Additional District Judge of Coochbehar district court Somnat Banerjee declared on February 14 that two Yemeni citizens had committed were innocent. They were charged of illegally entering Indian border.
Two Yemeni citizens Ahmed Sale and Ali Alwali Abdullah with their Lawyer Abdul Jalil Ahmed in front of Coochbehar District Court.
Two Yemeni citizens Ahmed Sale and Ali Alwali Abdullah had come to Bangladesh last year to participate in the World Tablighi Jamaat Ijtema at Tongi. Tablighi Jamaat Ijtema was held from January 11-13 (first phase), and January 18-20 (Second phase) in two phases on the bank of River Turag at Tongi, adjacent to Uttara Model Town in Dhaka of Bangladesh.
After the Tablighi Ijtema they moved to a mosque at Panishala Border area of Bangladesh for Tablighi da’wah. Next morning as they were taking a stroll in the nearby village, they crossed over the border by mistake. It should be mentioned here that several villages on the Indo-Bangladesh border have not yet been fenced and hence people often stray.
The two Yemenis were immediately arrested by the Border Security Force of India and handed them over to the Mekhliganj Police station of Coochbehar district on 22nd January, 2013.
According to source of Mekhliganj Police station, The Officer In-charge of the police station lodged a case (vide case No. 18/2013, Dt-23-01-2013) under the Indian Foreigner Act, Article 14.
Later they were produced in the Coochbehar District Court and the bench under the Additional District Judge Somnath Banerjee started preceding the case. On February 14, 2014 the Judge Somnath Banerjee said in his verdict that the two Yemeni citizens are innocent and directed the district Magistrate of Coochbehar to take necessary actions within 10 days to send them back to Bangladesh.
According to sources, they have meanwhile been allowed to stay at the house of their Lawyer Abdul Jalil Ahmed.
The lawyer of two Yemen citizen Abdul Jalil Ahmed expressed happiness on the verdict and said that his clients will soon be able to go back to Yemen via Bangladesh.
The district Magistrate of Coochbehar Mohan Gandhi has meanwhile said that they will work on the order after they get the full court papers.