Wednesday, January 4 2006 14:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Shillong: Three Meghalaya Foresters have been released by the Bangladesh authorities after spending a little over one month in the neighboring country's jail.

The release took place yesterday evening at Meghalaya's Dawki border in the presence of senior Border Security Force (BSF), Customs and state Forest officials.

A senior BSF officer at the headquarters of the Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland (AMM&N) frontier said here today (Jan 4, 2006), the Foresters were released through the Bangladesh Rifles(BDR)BSF channel. The three were found to be in 'good health', he said.

The Bangladesh authorities also returned the money, double-barrel guns and 17 cartridges seized from the Foresters.

The release ended a month-long intense dimplomatic lobbying by India in this regard after Meghalaya Government requested the Center to take it up with the authorities in Dhaka.

The Meghalaya Foresters, who 'inadvertently strayed' into Bangladesh territory on December one, were arrested by the BDR and 'challenged' to the police there. The three were later produced before a court in Sylhet district, which remanded them to judicial custody.

To obtain their release, Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang sought the Prime Minister's intervention. Pressure was mounted on Dhaka from the Union Home ministry also.

Accordingly, Bangladesh authorities agreed to free the Foresters after dropping the cases against them. But the actual physical release was delayed as the judge concerned was out of station.