BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed is finally set to return home on Sunday after spending over nine years in India’s Shillong.

He is expected to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 2 PM, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan. The Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Guwahati issued his travel pass on August 6, clearing the way for his return.

After remaining missing for 62 days, Salahuddin, a former state minister, was found in Shillong, the capital of the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya on May 11, 2015.

He was arrested for entering India without valid documents and charged under the Foreigners Act. Later, Shillong police pressed charges against him in the case.

BNP alleged that Salahuddin was abducted from his home in Uttara, Dhaka, on March 10, 2015, by individuals posing as detectives. On October 26, 2018, a court in Shillong acquitted him of the charges related to his illegal entry.

This verdict was upheld by a higher court on February 28, 2023, which also directed the Indian government to arrange for his return to Bangladesh.