PATNA: The Bihar Human Rights Commission (BHRC) has served notice to the home department on the plight of a young Bangladeshi woman, Riya Afreen Rupa, who is lodged in Biharsharif jail in Nalanda for more than four months even after completion of her sentence for illegally entering India.
The BHRC notice dated May 2 has sought report from additional chief secretary (home) till August 26.
The commission has fixed September 2 for hearing the matter again.
The BHRC took the action on the complaint by Muzaffarpur lawyer Dr SK Jha working for human rights.
Jha mentioned that the woman’s one-year period of imprisonment pronounced by a Nalanda court along with seven days’ additional imprisonment for unable to pay Rs500 fine ended on January 22 this year, but she is still languishing in jail, which is violation of human rights.
Jha also mentioned that the court had also directed the Nalanda SP to take action for sending her back to Bangladesh after her jail term.
Rupa, in her late 20s, was found roaming at Ahiyapur under Noorsarai police station area in Nalanda on December 5, 2019.
In her statement to the police, Rupa had said she needed money for the operation of her ailing child and a tout trafficked her to India in the name of providing a job, but abandoned her in Kolkata.
From there, she strayed to Nalanda.
When contacted, Biharsharif district jail superintendent Prabhat Kumar on Sunday said he had taken an update on Rupa’s case from Nalanda SP office ten days back.
“I have to know that letters have been written to the Union ministry of home affairs for contacting the Bangladesh high commission, but they are yet to authenticate that Rupa is their citizen for initiating the process to send her back home,” he said.
He said she is still inside the jail due to that.
“She lives with other inmates in the female ward of the jail,” he said.
The superintendent said he has also written a letter to Nalanda DM for making some alternative arrangements for the woman as per law.