At least 6,000 Bangladeshis who went to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj are yet to return to the country, according to sources in the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

The last Hajj flight from

Saudi Arabia landed in Dhaka on October 7.

The Hajj office claimed that the number would be 100–150, since some pilgrims have already come back using other carriers instead of the scheduled Hajj flights.

A total of 127,198 Bangladeshi pilgrims went to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj this year.

According to the CAAB, a total of 121,083 pilgrims have returned to the country after performing Hajj. Among them, 63,703 returned to Dhaka from Jeddah by Biman Bangladesh Airlines and 57,380 by Saudi Airlines.

Meanwhile, many pilgrims have lodged complaints against at least 150 Hajj agencies before- or post-Hajj period with the Hajj office and the Ministry of Religious Affairs separately, sources said.

The pilgrims alleged that they were not sent to Saudi Arabia on time. Some of them said that some agency owners had fled after taking money. They also griped over poor-quality food, misbehaviour, and low-quality accommodation and transportation.   

“It’s not true that over 6,000 Hajjis haven’t returned. The number may be 100–150. We’re trying to find out the exact number. Besides, many pilgrims have come back through other carriers,” Hajj office director Syful Islam told this correspondent yesterday.

The House Inspection Committee has already submitted a report to the ministry, he said, adding, “The ministry is looking into the complaints against the Hajj agencies and will take action against those involved in the irregularities mentioned.”

The Hajj office has received complaints against over 100 agencies, said Syful Alam.

“We're ready to assist the ministry concerned in taking action against the errant agencies,” Shahadat Hossain Taslim, secretary general of the Hajj Agencies’ Association of Bangladesh (HAAB), told this correspondent.

In 2015, a total of 11,485 pilgrims, who had gone to perform to Saudi Arabia with some 104 agencies, did not return after performing umrah.

The Saudi Arabia authorities had handed over a list of 104 Hajj and umrah agencies, who were involved in human trafficking, to the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi.

The names of the agencies owned by former HAAB president Ibrahim Bahar and its former general secretary Sheikh Md. Abdullah, Association of Travel Agencies of Bangladesh (ATAB) president Manzur Mahbub Morshed, and other HAAB and ATAB leaders were also in the list.

The Saudi Arabia government earlier warned Bangladesh that it would not issue any umrah visa for Bangladeshi pilgrims if actions were not taken against the agencies involved in illegal practices, It imposed restrictions on issuing the umrah visa for Bangladeshi pilgrims in March after detecting the irregularities and incidents of human trafficking.