SHILLONG, May 12 � Former MP and joint secretary general of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Salahuddin Ahmed is in Meghalaya police custody for illegal entry into India and a case under Foreigners� Act has been registered against him in the State Capital here today.
Additional Director General of Police SK Jain told The Assam Tribune that Ahmed was found in a �disoriented state� and had no documents on him when he was found.
He said a case has been registered under the Foreigners� Act, 1946, as he had no documents to prove his citizenship. �We will not say he has been arrested, but definitely he is under our custody,� Jain said when asked.
The Additional DGP said the case is being looked into from �various dimensions� and appropriate steps are being taken to handle this sensitive case.
In fact, Ahmed was first seen loitering suspiciously in Golf Links area in the State Capital on Monday and was alerted by the local residents after which he was taken into custody. The police interrogated him and he admitted that he is a Bangladeshi citizen and was a former MP.
However, when the police found him a bit disoriented he was referred to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), but the Institute confirmed he was mentally sound. He is now lodged at the Shillong Civil Hospital.
For the past two months Ahmed has been missing from Dhaka and his whereabouts were not known with speculation that he was arrested by plainclothesmen in Dhaka.
Ahmed�s wife Hasina Ahmed ran an extensive campaign and even sought Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina�s assistance to locate him. BNP held numerous hartals in Dhaka demanding Ahmed be traced.
Meanwhile, Ahmed, who spoke to some media persons here, alleged he was kidnapped from Utarra area in Dhaka on March 10. Ahmed said he doesn�t recall how he came to Shillong and landed in the hospital.
On the other hand, a police official said that Ahmed�s case has been intimated to the Central Government for further action after verifying his credentials from the Bangladesh Embassy.
The arrest of Ahmed in the country has once again exposed the gaping holes in India�s security network. Questions are being raised how and when Ahmed sneaked into the country hoodwinking the vast security apparatus deployed all along the 443-km International border which Meghalaya shares with Bangladesh.
