Young Man Detained for Crossing the Border by Mistake; A Mother’s Heartbreaking

Mohammad Shariful Alam Chowdhury : Every morning, Ayesha Begum wakes up and looks toward the door, hoping to hear her son’s familiar voice calling, “Ma, give me food.” But that voice is now trapped in a distant, foreign jail. Her house has turned silent, and the moments have grown heavy with pain.

Abdul Mannan (21), a youth from Paduar village in Dhamti Union of Debidwar upazila in Cumilla, is currently imprisoned in Meghalaya, India. On the afternoon of April 16, he and three others were detained by the BSF while mistakenly crossing the border through Beurjhari in Goainghat, Sylhet. They were later handed over to Dawki Police Station, which charged Mannan under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and sent him to Jowai District Jail (Case No: 14(4)/2025).

Mannan was the main hope for his financially struggling family. His father, Mojibur Rahman, passed away years ago. His elder brother, Abdul Hannan, and younger brother, Billal, work at a tea stall in Fatulla, Dhaka. Mannan was the only one continuing his education, studying Islamic texts at a madrasa in Chandraganj, Noakhali.

According to his elder brother, Mannan left for the madrasa on April 16, but the next day, the family learned that he was detained across the Indian border. On April 22, Mannan himself called from India and said he was in jail after accidentally crossing the border while sightseeing.

Later, a man claiming to be an Indian lawyer contacted the family, demanding INR 90,000 for Mannan’s release, with INR 20,000 to be paid in advance. However, inquiries revealed that such fraudulent "lawyers" are common near border areas.

Lt. Col. Tanzim Ahmed, commander of BGB’s 50th battalion, confirmed that Mannan was detained for illegally crossing the border and was later handed over to Indian authorities under charges of illegal entry.

A Bangladeshi journalist contacted an official from the Indian High Commission, who strictly advised against sending money to individuals or so-called lawyers. “Such cases must be handled through formal communication between the two countries' high commissions,” the official said.

Since hearing the news, Mannan’s mother has been inconsolable. With a voice choked in tears, she pleads:

 “My Mannan is not a criminal. He just went on a trip. Please bring my son back. I can’t live without him.”

A Humanitarian Appeal

Every year, numerous such unfortunate incidents occur at the Bangladesh-India border. But the humanitarian side of these cases often gets lost in bureaucratic complexities.

We urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh High Commission in India to take swift action so that Abdul Mannan can return to his family. May this grieving mother’s pain not stretch on any longer.