Shillong police charge BNP leader with trespassing

Shillong police in the Meghalaya state of India today pressed charges against BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed in a case filed for trespassing.

Investigators submitted the charge sheet with Chief Judicial Magistrate KML Nongbri this afternoon, Subrata Acharjee, India bureau chief of Somoy TV, told The Daily Star quoting Vivek Syiem, superintendent of police of East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya.

The charge sheet comes 23 days after the case was filed under the Foreigners Act of India. Lawyers say the BNP leader may face imprisonment or pushback.

According to sources at the court, the police brought charges against Salahuddin only for entering India without valid travel documents.

They added that the BNP leader would be produced before the court again on June 10 after the 14-day judicial custody ordered by the court.

Salahuddin was picked up from a house in Dhaka's Uttara on March 10 allegedly by unidentified men who introduced themselves as detectives.

He was found in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya state, on May 11 after remaining missing for around two months. He was arrested for entering India without any valid documents.

After his arrest, police admitted Salahuddin to a mental hospital as they found him “mentally unstable”. Later, the BNP leader was taken to Shillong Civil Hospital. On May 20, he was shifted to the Neigrihms for better treatment.