The High Court (HC) has asked the police to explain why 219 migrants, who returned home recently from three Gulf countries, were detained without an arrest warrant.
Upon hearing a petition on Thursday, an HC bench directed the investigating officer of Turag police station in Dhaka to appear before it on October 29, 2020 for explaining the reason of their detention under Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure code (CrPc).
The bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Mustafizur Rahman also directed the chief metropolitan magistrate to show cause how the proceedings have continued under the CrPr Section 54, according to a press release issued by RMMRU.
The petitioner has sought remedy under CrPc Section 561A which empowers "the High Court Division to make such orders as may be necessary ... to prevent abuse of the process of any Court and otherwise secure the ends of justice".
Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua made the submission on behalf of one Shahin Alam, a returnee from Bahrain. The case was facilitated by academic activist Rezaur Rahman Lenin and Dr. CR Abrar of Refugree and Migratory Movement Research Unit (RMMRU).
The said (219) migrants were detained following their quarantine period in Dhaka.
They were detained allegedly for carrying out ‘suspicious activities’ while in quarantine. The police also accused them of "tarnishing the image of the country" and "hatching conspiracy against the government and the state".
On the police plea, the detention period was extended a few times.
The Section 54 allows any police officer to arrest any person without “an order from a Magistrate and without a warrant”.
Subsequently, under similar charges, the police detained another group of 83 returnee migrants from Vietnam, who were reportedly victims of trafficking.
A third group of 32 returnee migrants from Lebanon were detained after they had finished their quarantine period. This group returned home on September 13.
However, a number of migrants from the first two groups were later released on bail.
