No prospect of ULFA leader Anup Chetia’s early hand over to India

[BanglaBhoot]

Dhaka, Aug 18 (UNB)- ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia now in protective custody is unlikely to be handed over to India before Dr Manmohan’s Sept 6-7 Dhaka visit as speculated by the Indian media.

“I don’t see any possibility of Anup Chetia be handed over to India before its Prime Minister’s visit,” a senior official of the Home Ministry told UNB dismissing the Indian media report.

Requesting anonymity the official said he was in the high level meeting with Indian Home Minister in Dhaka on July 30 and categorically said the issue of Anup Chetia did not at all come up for discussion in the meeting.

Explaining the position he said Chetia is now in protective custody on orders of the High Court. His petition to the government for asylum is lying pending for disposal.

“He cannot be send back to India unless and until he expresses his willingness to return to his
home in Assam” where his party ULFA has been fighting for independence from India.

Chetia along with his two associates was arrested in Dhaka on December 21, 1997 and sentenced to seven years jail for illegal entry and possession of firearms.

The jail term ended, he refused to return to India apprehending insecurity of his life. He had submitted a petition to the government for granting asylum.

Bangladesh Human Rights Enforcement Sangstha had appealed to the High Court to keep Anup Chetia in safe custody. Now he is in Rajshahi prison, added the official.

Asked about Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram remarks to the Indian media in New Delhi on August 1 that India has requested Bangladesh to hand over Chetia as early as possible, the official pleaded his ignorance if any decision was taken outside the meeting.

“Nothing actually was discussed about Anup Chetia during the meeting between Chidambaram and Home Minister Sahara Khatun on July 30.

There is no extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India.

Recently, the two countries have signed an agreement to transfer of convicts from jails of barring three categories - those sentenced for life or death penalty, people from disciplinary services and those convicted by martial law courts.

The official said the case of Anup Chetia is different and he does not come under this agreement.

At present more than 500 Bangladeshis who served in Indian jails while 324 Indian nationals who completed their terms remain in Bangladesh jails.

During the Home Minister level meeting the Bangladesh side handed over a list of such Bangladeshi convicts to the Indian side for their repatriation.

UNBconnect... - No prospect of ULFA leader Anup Chetia

 

[BanglaBhoot]

Chetia buzz before PM Bangla trip

ANANYA SENGUPTA

Dhaka, Aug. 18: Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia, who is in the Bangladesh government’s protective custody, is likely to be handed over to Indian authorities before Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka, local media reports have said.

The foreign ministry or the home ministry in Dhaka have not given out any date for the handover, which is being seen as a goodwill gesture by the hosts before the Indian Prime Minister’s visit on September 6-7.

Sources hinted that Chetia is expected to withdraw his plea seeking asylum in Bangladesh, a petition that has been pending in the high court for over eight years now.

Once the plea is withdrawn, the government in Dhaka will approach the court seeking permission to hand over Chetia to India. When the court accepts the government’s plea, Indian authorities can take custody of the Ulfa leader who is now in jail.

Bangladesh home minister Sahara Khatun had confirmed in a news conference earlier this month that the process of Chetia’s transfer to Indian custody had begun. Khatun had said: “I don’t think there is any obstacle in handing Chetia over to India. But there are procedures in extraditing someone.”

Local media reports say Chetia will be one of 49 Indians to be handed over by the Bangladesh government in response to a formal request by Indian home minister P. Chidambaram during his visit to Dhaka recently. Chidambaram had given a list naming 50 people who are wanted in India. Dhaka is considering the release of 49 of them.

Bangladesh has not given any details yet on the one person it is not considering for the transfer of custody.

Sources said Dhaka also expects an assurance from Delhi on the extradition of two killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman who are allegedly hiding in India.

Chetia was arrested in Dhaka in 1997 under the Foreigners Act and the Passports Act for illegally carrying foreign currency and a satellite phone.

He was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment by a Bangladeshi court and is being held at Kashimpur Jail on Dhaka’s outskirts.

Chetia buzz before PM Bangla trip

 

[Skies]

If you give everything then you may lose everything.

Learn holding, and spin them.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Good prospect.

 

[BanglaBhoot]

Extradition treaty push

Dhaka, Aug. 20: An Indo-Bangla extradition treaty, under discussion for the past few years, has got a fresh impetus since gaining momentum during Sheikh Hasina’s January 2010 visit to India.

Official sources in Dhaka said India was keen on inking the treaty during Hasina’s tenure and were ready with a draft, which has to be given to Bangladeshi officials for inputs and feedback.

“India is keen that the treaty is signed during this regime as Indo-Bangla ties have never been better. We are at the most positive stage of our relationship and the treaty will heighten this sense of mutual confidence. Also, one has to take into account that Bangladesh is a highly polarised country and for us the time and situation is just right to go ahead with the deal,” said a senior official closely associated with the developments.

The sources said the deal would most likely be inked during Hasina’s next trip to India and before Bangladesh goes to polls in 2013.

While the treaty was discussed during secretary-level talks in 2006, the sources said it was the extradition of Ulfa leader Anup Chetia that brought the issue to the forefront.

For Delhi, Chetia’s presence in the country is imperative for the peace process with the banned Assam outfit.

Chetia, who was arrested in 1997, is in the protective custody of Bangladesh. He finished his sentence in 2003 after which he filed a petition for asylum.

While Delhi has been asking for Chetia to be handed over, the Ulfa leader couldn’t be released into Indian custody since the two countries do not have an extradition treaty.

And since he has already served his jail term, he couldn’t be handed over under the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters agreement the two countries signed during Hasina’s visit to India.

However, an Indian official in Dhaka said Delhi was expecting Chetia to be released “any” day now.

“There is no way Bangladesh can hand over Chetia to us. But I understand that Chetia will be released soon and we are ready to take him back any time. How he is released, or when, is not a priority for India any more. We need him for the peace process. Now, we are keen to have an extradition treaty so that we can institutionalise it,” the official said.

Delhi’s concerns are understandable. A sizeable section of the public and the opposition, led by Khaleda Zia’s BNP, have been criticising Hasina for selling out to India. There are also doubts whether the Awami League will return to power in the 2013 elections.

However, it is not just India which will benefit if the treaty is signed. India is holding some 200 Bangladeshi criminals and Dhaka has given the Indian home minister a list of 100 wanted men.

Bangladesh is also keen to lay its hands on 19 absconding persons accused of involvement in the August 2004 grenade attack on Hasina.

While Dhaka has already sent Interpol notices on all of them, those in India — Haris Chowdhury, Mohammad Hanif, Ratul Babu, Anisul Morsalin and his brother Muttakin — could be handed over if an extradition treaty is inked.

Also on the radar are two killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who are believed to be hiding in India.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110821/jsp/frontpage/story_14404389.jsp