Silchar: The family of Assam resident Mousumi Das, who was arrested in Bangladesh for entering without valid travel documents, has demanded that she be brought back as soon as possible.
The 21-year-old resident of Dharakuna village in Karimganj district of south Assam had reportedly eloped with Bangladesh citizen Numan Badshah, 22, to that country last month. Sources said the two met when Numan attended a fair in Karimganj in February.
Mousumi, a college student, went missing on March 12. Her family members filed a complaint with Karimganj police, a probe was initiated and she was traced to Bangladesh.
In a video that surfaced on social media on March 27, a burkha-clad Mousumi is seen admitting that she went to Bangladesh, married Numan and converted to Islam with the name Fatima Jannat.
Indian embassy officials tried to convince her to return but she did not agree after which she was arrested from Demra in Dhaka on Tuesday night. A case under Section IV of the Control of Entry Act, 1952, was registered against her. She was produced before a court in Dhaka on Wednesday and sent to judicial custody. On Thursday, the court accepted her bail plea after which she went to Numan's house, sources in Dhaka said.
Mousumi's mother Suchitra, however, alleged that her daughter had been kidnapped by Numan. She alleged that Mousumi's video was made by threatening her. She claimed that Hojai BJP legislator Shiladitya Dev's suspicion that it was a case of "love jihad" was true and her daughter had been trapped.
She implored the government to bring back her daughter at the earliest. "Mousumi is my daughter and we will accept her," she said.
Mousumi's other family members echoed the demand.
Dev told The Telegraph on Thursday that the case was that of human trafficking. He said girls are lured/kidnapped from India to Bangladesh and later sold through trafficking networks. He said the details of Bangladeshis should be verified thoroughly before issuing visas to them. He said efforts would be made to bring Mousumi back under the provisions of law.
