Salahuddin faces trespass charges
A Shillong court in the Indian state of Meghalaya yesterday framed charges against BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed for allegedly trespassing into India. The court of chief judicial magistrate KML Nongbri also fixed July 30 for starting the trial of the case filed under the Foreigners Act.
Earlier on June 3, Shillong police had pressed charges against the former state minister, 23 days after the filing of the case. Speaking to reporters, SP Mahanta, the counsel for Salahuddin, said that his client has denied the charges of making any unlawful entry into India.
If Salahuddin confesses to his crime, the court will send him to Bangladesh after awarding punishment against him, said IC Jha, counsel for the state.
According to law, the BNP leader might be awarded jail terms up to five years if he is found guilty.
Salahuddin, 54, is now residing at a rented house at Shillong and receiving treatment from the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (Neigrihms) under judicial custody.
Shillong police arrested the BNP joint secretary general while he was loitering in Golf Link area of Shillong on May 11, around two months after plainclothes sleuths picked him up from a residence at the Dhakas Uttara.
The BNP and Salahuddins family members allege that law enforcers had picked up Salahuddin when he was acting as BNPs spokesperson during the time of the recent anti-government movement. The government, however, has rejected the allegation.
Salahuddin was first admitted to a mental hospital in Shillong as police found him mentally unstable. Later, he was shifted to Shillong Civil Hospital. On May 20, the BNP leader was taken to Neigrihms for better treatment.
A Shillong court on May 27 placed Salahuddin under judicial custody. Two days later, another court rejected his bail prayer for better treatment of his ailment in a third country.
