BHUBANESWAR : Two Bangladeshi nationals reportedly travelling to the city for medical treatment were subjected to police verification on arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) on Sunday night after the locals raised suspicion on their identity.
Furthermore, the hospital concerned also reportedly refused admission to the patient in apprehension of trouble and both were forced to return to Mumbai from where they had flown to Bhubaneswar.
According to police sources, the two brothers, aged 49 and 35, arrived from Mumbai after flying in from Dubai, where they were employed as a driver and a labourer respectively. The elder sibling, who is suffering from a cardiac ailment, was scheduled to undergo treatment at a private hospital here.
The hospital reportedly had arranged an ambulance to receive them at the airport. However, it failed to arrive following a communication gap. As the ambulance did not turn up, the two attempted to hire a taxi.
When the cab driver enquired about their nationality and learnt they were Bangladeshi citizens, he alerted others present at the airport. Locals gathered and informed the police raising suspicion that the two were illegal immigrants. They were taken to the Airport police station where their travel documents, including passports and visas, were checked and found to be valid. “After thorough verification, they were cleared,” inspector-in-charge Rabindranath Meher said.
However, police sources said the private hospital later declined to admit the ailing man, citing local backlash in the wake of recent tensions over killing of Hindus in Bangladesh. With no alternative, the brothers returned to Mumbai on Monday morning.
The incident comes after a migrant worker from West Bengal was lynched by a group of miscreants in Sambalpur on December 24 over alleged suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrant. Police arrested six accused a day later and claimed the victim was attacked over a dispute and there was no Bangladeshi angle to the crime.