Omega members, pushed back into India
By A Staff Reporter, The eight British and American members of ‘Omega’. who had entered Bangladesh on Tuesday with relief materials, were pushed back to India by Pak troops on Wednesday after holding them under arrest for nearly 18 hours in Bangladesh. They crossed the border in their two vehicles near Pettrapole around 2 p. m. reaching Calcutta in the evening.
They were stopped by Pak troops and were not allowed to move anywhere to organize relief work which was their programme.
UNI adds : asked about their experience inside Bangladesh, Miss Pratt said “although we were not badly treated by Pakistani troops, we had tense discussion for nearly six hours on three occasions with Army officers”.
The interrogation over, the volunteers were driven to Jessore cantonment escorted by three truckloads of troops and “confined” in three rooms at an Army officer’s mess, said Miss Pratt.
They were woken up at about 7-30 a.m. on Wednesday. They were told they would be tried by a civil court if they did not leave East Bengal.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 19.8.1971