13.11.15

Bangladesh hands over Ulfa founder

Bangladesh has extradited Ulfa's founding general secretary Golap Baruah alias Anup Chetia to India, making way for him to join the ongoing peace talks between the pro talks faction of the outfit, Centre and Assam government.
Born in 1957, Chetia, who facilitated the formation of Ulfa single-handedly in 1979, is still known as the outfit's main strategist. He had led Ulfa's first-ever peace talks in 1991 with then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. The dialogue, however, did not take off and Chetia disappeared ill. He was arrested in Bangladesh in 1997 along with his two accomplices -Laxmiprasad Goswami and Babul Sharma -for illegally entering that country and possessing foreign currency and a satellite phone. Goswami and Sharma have also been extradited. Chetia, whose wife Monica, son Juman and daughter Bulbuli returned from Dhaka three years ago, will be brought to Assam where he faces trial in several cases.However, like other militant leaders, all legal hurdles will be cleared to help him join the peace process. “This is the happiest day of my life. My two children have long been deprived of their father's love,“ said Monica.
The peace process with the pro-talks faction, led by its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, is all set to enter the final stages and Chetia's coming on board is seen as a major victory for the government in its efforts to find a solution to the over four-decades-old militancy problem in Assam. The parent outfit suffered a vertical split after the Sheikh Hasina government clamped down on the outfit's base in 2009 leading to the arrest and deportation of the outfit's top leaders -all except Paresh Baruah, who, along with its new chairman Abhizeet Asom and a handful of leaders and cadres, is still outside the peace process. Chetia is the second top fugitive after Chhota Rajan to have been brought under Indian custody this month. The Ulfa founder had an Interpol Red Corner notice issued against him by the CBI. He was released from his `protective custody' in Kasimpur Jail on the outskirts of Dhaka at 2 am on Wednesday and was taken by CBI officials to the Indian embassy there. He was flown to New Delhi by a private airline later in the day.
While PM Narendra Modi tweeted thanking his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said handing over of Chetia reflected Bangladesh's commitment and maturity to cooperate on issues such as terror. “Handing over of Anup Chetia by Bangladesh shows its commitment and maturity to cooperate with India on issues like terror and organized crime,“ Singh said in a statement.


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