Thirty-six Bangladesh nationals returned home on Tuesday after serving two-year imprisonment each in India for illegal entry.

Among the returnees, 21 are boys and 15 girls, aged between 10 and 13. They were officially handed over by the Indian Petrapole Immigration Police to their counterparts at the Benapole Immigration Police in the afternoon.

The returnees were Asma Khatun, Asmaul Hossain, Beauty Rani, Apon Chandra Singh, Debnath, Rahmat Ali, Ziaur Rahman, Rakhi Sana, Ayat Morol, Rimi Morol, Tahmina Akter, Shakil Hawlader, Samrat Gupta, Akash Haque, Shahinur Alam, Hanif Ali, Debjit Roy, Russell Babu, Faria Khan, Ibrahim, Safar Sheikh, Abdus Sabur, Al Amin, Salma, Sajeda, Yasmin, Munni, Johora Begum, Nazma Khatun, Dhiman Barui, Shraban Hossain, Rifat Hossain, Ridoy Roy, Sithi Roy, Priyonti Roy, and Mili Akter.

They are residents of various districts, including Dhaka, Khulna, Bagerhat, Narail, Rajshahi, Noakhali, Munshiganj, Gopalganj, Kurigram, Natore, Dinajpur, Mymensingh, Netrokona, Rangpur, Madaripur, Narsingdi, Thakurgaon, Jhalakathi, Panchagarh, and Cox’s Bazar.

Benapole Immigration Police Officer-in-Charge Ibrahim Ahmed reported that the teenagers crossed into India illegally through brokers approximately two and a half years ago in search of better job opportunities. They were later arrested by the Indian police, while working in various households in Haryana, and received prison sentences of up to two years for their illegal entry.

Three NGOs—Justice and Care, Rights Jashore, and Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers’ Association—received the returnees from the police and were working to facilitate their reunification with families.