Police show 81 workers returning from Vietnam arrested

Each of the migrant workers went to Vietnam receiving clearance from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.Prothom Alo

Police have arrested 81 migrant workers returning from Vietnam. The workers were preparing to return home after formal quarantine at Diabari of the capital on Tuesday morning.

Police, however, took them to the court instead. This was confirmed by the Turag police station.

The workers returned to the country from Vietnam on 18 August after losing everything, having been entrapped by the brokers. On their return to Dhaka by special flight, they faced repeated interrogation.

Police stepped up their activities just two days before their quarantine was over.

According to sources, police arrived at the place and compiled a list of the belongings of the Vietnam-returnees.

Md. Alamgir, one of the workers, said police, on 30 August, told them that they would be produced before the court, but did not clarify why.

Each of the migrant workers went to Vietnam receiving clearance from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.
Prothom Alo

Alamgir said the workers spent Tk 400,000 to 500,000 to go to Vietnam on the promise of factory jobs by middlemen, but they did not get such jobs.

On their arrival, they were provided with some temporary off jobs. At one point, Alamgir along with others became completely unemployed. He expected that action would be taken against the fraudulent recruiting agencies.

In mid-July, the workers travelled to Hanoi, around 1,500km away from Vung Tao, and took position in front of the Bangladesh embassy there demanding repatriation.

According to the sub-inspector of Turag police station, Asmaul Husna, the workers were imprisoned in Vietnam and there were directives from Vietnam to take further action against them.

Each of the migrant workers went to Vietnam receiving clearance from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training. They said they did not commit any crime and cannot understand the reason of such police action.

Earlier, 219 returnees from the Middle East were also detained and imprisoned as soon as they were deported to Bangladesh. Though the Middle East country governments pardoned them, they were not released in Bangladesh.