Shillong, Oct 26: A lower court on Friday acquitted the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader, Salahuddin Ahmed of all charges that he illegally landed in Shillong three years ago, and he would be immediately deported back to his country, which is going to national elections this December.
Ahmed was acquitted through a judgment passed by the court of judicial magistrate (first class), D.G. Kharshiing, after a trail that went on for more than three years.

Delivery of the verdict was also pending since August 13, as the court postponed it to September 28, October 15 and finally delivered on October 26.

The court directed that Ahmed should be immediately repatriated to Bangladesh.

“I am very happy with the verdict of the court. I have been eagerly waiting to make my presence in my country (Bangladesh),” Ahmed said after the court’s verdict.

Ahmed was facing charges under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 for surfacing in Shillong without valid documents on May 11, 2015.

The BNP leader was arrested by the Meghalaya police on May 12, 2015. But Ahmed was out on bail since June 5, 2015.

The BNP leader (Salahuddin Ahmed) was spotted in Golf Link area in Shillong on May 11, 2015, around 5.30 am. Police said that people informed them that an individual was “suspiciously and aimlessly” moving in the area.

That time, Ahmed was first taken to the Meghalaya Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (MIMHANS), Lawmali here after the Meghalaya police found him not speaking comprehensibly, when they questioned him. But at MIMHANS, Ahmed was found to be mentally sound, and referred him to Shillong Civil Hospital for treatment.

Ahmed, who had served as communications minister in the BNP government led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from 2001 to 2006,

He thanked both the state and Central governments in India for “taking care of him” and cooperating.

Ahmed reiterated that he was kidnapped by plain cloth people in 2015 who had claimed themselves to be from the law enforcing agencies in Bangladesh.

He was one among the numerous BNP leaders who have disappeared during the political turmoil in Bangladesh in 2015.

“I did not know how I landed in Shillong as I was blind folded. I have not crossed the border voluntarily. I was kidnapped from my friend’s house,” he recalled.

The BNP leader however alleged that it was a state-sponsored terrorism which is going on there in his country.

Whether he would face action once he reached Bangladesh, the former Bangladesh MP said, “surely, because numerous cases have been filed against various political leaders from the opposition.”

Whether he anticipated a threat to his life after he returned to Bangladesh, Ahmed said, “So many cases against leaders from the opposition parties were filed with false charges. They even filed cases against a dead man. This is our part of life there, because democracy is not functioning properly. So we don’t care as we have to face it.”

Ahmed also said that he has no plan to apply for political asylum, as he wanted to go back to his country.

Ahmed would go back to his country at a time when the national elections would be held in December.

Asked if he would also join the electoral battle, Ahmed said, “If my repatriation is made timely, there is a chance that I can take part in the national election.”

Ahmed is the member of the BNP’s National Standing Committee, the highest decision making committee of party.