Twelve Bangladeshi teenagers returned home through Benapole check post on Friday night after serving two years’ jail term in an Indian prison.

Border Security Force (BSF) handed them over to Benapole immigration police at about 8:00pm.

The returnees are identified as Nayan Tara,17, of Jhenaidah, Aklima,16, of Bagerhat, Sathi Akter,17, and Eti Khatun,16, of Narail, Nandini,17, of Moulvibazar, Halima Khatun,16, Jesmin Akter,17, Halima Begum,16, Mina Khatun,16, Suma,16, Rahima Khatun,16, and Farida Khatun,17, of Jessore district.

Benapole Immigration Police officer-in-charge Mominur Rahman said the 12 teenagers entered the Indian territory two years back without valid documents through several border points of Jessore in search of jobs.

Later, Indian police arrested them from different areas of Mumbai.

A case was filed against them and an Indian court awarded them two years’ imprisonment each for crossing the border without valid documents.

Upon completion of the jail term, they were later kept in a shelter centre there.

The Indian government has returned them following repeated requests from the Home Ministry of Bangladesh through letters several times.

Benapole port thana police handed them over to their respective families through a human right organisation named ‘Rights Jessore’.