West Bengal’s Rahra police arrested three Bangladeshi nationals – Majnu Gazi, Mohammad Kamal Sheikh, alias Idris Ali, and Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, alias Milon – in raids across North 24 Parganas district.

The arrests, made five days ago, culminated in their presentation before the Barrackpore Subdivisional Court on Sunday, May 18.

The trio, identified as active members of Bangladesh’s Awami League party, fled to West Bengal on August 8, 2024, following the collapse of the Awami League government on August 5.

To evade capture, they hid in areas under the Rahra police station within the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate.

Police, acting on intelligence and photographs provided by detectives, conducted raids in Rahra and New Town, apprehending Majnu Gazi and Kamal Sheikh in Rahra, followed by Mehedi Hasan in Ghuni Laskar Para, New Town.

All three face charges under the 14 Foreigners Act.

Majnu Gazi, 52, hails from Daulatpur, Khulna, and Kamal Sheikh, 40, from Betkashi, Khulna.

Mehedi Hasan’s address remains undisclosed.

Speaking to local media from a police vehicle, Kamal Sheikh revealed, “I fled Bangladesh on August 8 after the government’s fall. As member secretary of the Union Juba League, I feared for my life amid rising political unrest and began renting a house here.”