New Delhi: In a significant development, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) leader Anup Chetia alias Golap Baruah was handed over to the CBI by the Bangladesh government on Wednesday.
Sources said, the initiative has been taken after the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chetia was lodged in Dhaka for the last 17 years and India was trying to get his custody for a decade. This is the second major development after the arrest of Rajendra Nikhalje alias Chhota Rajan at the Bali airport on October 25, 2015 in terms of India’s firm foreign policy.
He will be brought to India soon but it is still unclear whether he will be handed over to the probe agencies in Guwahati or in Delhi. There are reports that he was handed over to the CBI in Dhaka through a special mechanism and nor through an existing extradition treaty.
Speaking to CNN-IBN Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, said, "It is a good news for us and also we don't mind CBI custody. It is not the question between central government and state government".
Former CBI director Shantonu Sen said, "Chetia was wanted for a long time and I think our National Security Advisor (NSA) has taken up all the long pending crucial custody of wanted terrorists. This is the second custody after Chhota Rajan. It is good to see that the government is serious on wanted terrorists and criminals."
"I would like to congratulate our NSA for his great ability in dealing with such cases," he added.
Another former CBI director DR Karthikeyan said, "It is a significant development and a lesson for the fugitives that they could not get away easily. I would like to thank our Prime Minister for taking this crucial initiative on a priority level."
He said, "It is just a beginning and I am sure many more development will take place soon".
In 2014, Bangladesh's home secretary Mozammel Haque Khan assured India that Chetia, will be extradited to India very soon. Then Khan's statement came after a high level meeting with his Indian counterpart Anil Goswami.
Chetia, a founding member of ULFA and its general secretary, is wanted for murder, abductions and extortion in India. He had sought political asylum in Bangladesh in 2005, 2008 and in 2011 following his arrest in December 1997 by the Dhaka police. He was subsequently handed seven years of jail terms on the charges of carrying fake passports, cross-border intrusion and for illegally keeping foreign currencies.
He has completed his prison term but he is still in jail after Bangladeshi high court directs the Bangladesh government to keep him in safe custody based on his plea seeking political asylum in Bangladesh.
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