Despite the completion of their sentences for various criminal offences, at least 157 foreign nationals are currently held in Bangladeshi jails, according to media reports.
The information was mentioned in a recent report submitted to the High Court.
Among the foreign inmates, 150 are Indian citizens, five are from Myanmar, and one each from Pakistan and Nepal. Of them, 19 are women.
Deputy Attorney General Amit Dasgupta told reporters Sunday that these foreign nationals were usually imprisoned for illegal entry under the Control of Entry Act, 1952, The Passport (Offences) Act, 1952, and the Narcotics Control Act.
As per the Department of Prisons, 68 jails of the country have a capacity of less than 43,000 inmates.
In September last year, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the jails were already holding inmates nearly twice their capacity.
