Bangladesh hands over two top ULFA leaders
NEW DELHI: With about a month to go for Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasinas visit Dhaka, in a significant move, handed over two key officials of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), the banned anti-India insurgent group, to Indian authorities on Wednesday night. Sources in the Home Ministry confirmed that Ulfas foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury and finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika were handed over by the Bangladesh Rifles to their counterparts in the BSF after Bangladesh intel l igence sleuths arrested them from a safe house in Dhaka's Uttara area on Sunday.
Bangladesh observers see it as preparation of the ground before Sheikh Hasinas vital visit to boost ties and trade between the two countries next month, her first after being sworn in as Bangladesh's Prime Minister last year.
Sources also said that Bangladesh security agencies have started cracking down heavily on other anti-India insurgent groups like the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). Sniffing an imminent crackdown UlfaS commanderin- chief Paresh Barua is said to have fled to Chinas Yunnan province last week from where he buys regular supplies of armaments for Ulfa from North China Industries Corp (NORINCO). Norinco, sources in the intelligence agencies say, supplies extremely close copies of world famous killer machine guns, sub-machine guns, AK 47s, snipers and pistols to Ulfa. Besides using these for itself, Ulfa also smuggles them to supply to other insurgent groups including the CPI (Maoist).
Sources said Bangladesh authorities had assured Delhi of even greater cooperation in the coming months, of their resolve to finish off most of the anti - India insurgent groups' bases in Bangladesh and also of the possible handing over of top leaders like Ranjan Daimary of the pro-sovereignty faction of NDFB, Biswamohan Debbarma of NLFT and Ranjit Debbarma of the All Tripura Tiger Force besides the Ulfa top shots - Paresh Barua and Anup Chetia.
NEW DELHI: With about a month to go for Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasinas visit Dhaka, in a significant move, handed over two key officials of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), the banned anti-India insurgent group, to Indian authorities on Wednesday night. Sources in the Home Ministry confirmed that Ulfas foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury and finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika were handed over by the Bangladesh Rifles to their counterparts in the BSF after Bangladesh intel l igence sleuths arrested them from a safe house in Dhaka's Uttara area on Sunday.
Bangladesh observers see it as preparation of the ground before Sheikh Hasinas vital visit to boost ties and trade between the two countries next month, her first after being sworn in as Bangladesh's Prime Minister last year.
Sources also said that Bangladesh security agencies have started cracking down heavily on other anti-India insurgent groups like the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). Sniffing an imminent crackdown UlfaS commanderin- chief Paresh Barua is said to have fled to Chinas Yunnan province last week from where he buys regular supplies of armaments for Ulfa from North China Industries Corp (NORINCO). Norinco, sources in the intelligence agencies say, supplies extremely close copies of world famous killer machine guns, sub-machine guns, AK 47s, snipers and pistols to Ulfa. Besides using these for itself, Ulfa also smuggles them to supply to other insurgent groups including the CPI (Maoist).
Sources said Bangladesh authorities had assured Delhi of even greater cooperation in the coming months, of their resolve to finish off most of the anti - India insurgent groups' bases in Bangladesh and also of the possible handing over of top leaders like Ranjan Daimary of the pro-sovereignty faction of NDFB, Biswamohan Debbarma of NLFT and Ranjit Debbarma of the All Tripura Tiger Force besides the Ulfa top shots - Paresh Barua and Anup Chetia.
