Locals handed over 10 Bangladeshi nationals to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) after spotting them in the Murichhara border area in Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar on Thursday.

BGB later handed them over to Kulaura Police Station in the presence of family members after verifying their identities. Police last night released them to their relatives.

Kulaura Police Station Sub-Inspector Farhad Matbar said the detainees told BGB during initial questioning that they had entered India illegally at different times in the past.

They were later detained by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and recently pushed back into Bangladesh through the Murichhara border, he added.

On information, their relatives later reached the police station, and the individuals were released into their custody yesterday evening, he added.

Lieutenant Colonel Sarkar Asif Mahmud, commander of the Srimangal Battalion (46 BGB), said, "It is not confirmed whether it is a push-in or not. These ten people were brought to us by the public from the border area. The police could have given details."