Punjab News Lodged at juvenile home, Pak, b’desh youths appeal for relea

Lily

B.R
Staff member
Faridkot April 24:

May 2008: Sunil Khan, then 15, a resident of Bahawalpur in Pakistan, “strays into” India via Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district. Fate: Arrested by the BSF and lodged at a juvenile home here.

March 2010: Raffiq-ul-Islam, a teen from Bangladesh, “mistakenly enters” West Bengal and reaches the border town via a train. Fate: Taken into custody by the BSF and lodged at the juvenile home.

That’s the storey of two youths — both in their teens when detained — hailing from two different nations, but sharing the same fate. And both have a common wish too: returning to native countries. The police had lodged criminal cases under Sections 3 and 5 of the Passport Act and various sections of the IPC against them. Sunil and Raffiq have appealed to the Government of India to “show mercy to them for mistakenly crossing over into the Indian territory”. Both rue that their parents were poor and could not afford legal process.

Though optimistic about his release, similar appeals earlier — in 2009 and 2010 — by Sunil fetched no reply. On his request, the district administration even wrote to the Union Home Ministry to issue instructions as per the law to repatriate him, but no response came. And all this, despite the Juvenile Board ordering his release about a year ago after computing the days of his judicial custody at the juvenile home as punishment.

Recently, both met Utsav Singh Bains, member of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, who, following directions from the Supreme Court, visited the juvenile home for inspection. Bains assured them of raising the matter with the officials concerned at the Centre. Notably, these are not the only two cases, as five more Bangladeshi and two Pakistani youths have been languishing at a juvenile home in Hoshiarpur.

Both Sunil and Raffiq have been learning Punjabi at the juvenile home for the past several months but appear worried fearing if they were not repatriated, their life could get spoilt as their age would run out for education.

 
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