ULFA update

A key jailed Ulfa leader Anup Chetia, who had expressed his desire to join the ongoing peace process, has sprung a surprise. He has taken the side of the anti-talk faction – led by the outfit’s elusive commander-inchief Paresh Baruah – and decided not to withdraw his ‘political asylum’ plea from a Bangladeshi court that is mandatory for his deportation. Chetia’s move is being seen here as a setback to India’s effort to get him deported and made him part of the peace process. He was arrested in Bangladesh in 1997 for forging travel documents. Though the Ulfa leader had served his jail sentence for the offence long ago, he has been under detention there pending his plea for ‘political asylum’ in a Bangladeshi court. His deportation – as per the law in neighbouring country – is not possible unless he withdraws his plea. Government sources said though the efforts were being made at different levels including involving Bangladeshi authorities for Chetia’s deportation, the Ulfa leader’s change of mind had, of late, hindered the process. He was supposed to withdraw his plea for ‘political asylum’ even before the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka early last month, but he had kept on delaying it to thwart his deportation, they added.