Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and his Bangladesh counterpart Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir inaugurate the India Bangladesh Integrated Checkpost of Akhaura at Agartala, the capital of northeastern state of Tripura yesterday. Right: Assam separatist leader Anup Chetia.
Assam separatist leader Anup Chetia, currently lodged in a jail in Bangladesh, will be extradited to India after the completion of judicial formalities, Bangladesh’s Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir said here yesterday.
Chetia, the founder general secretary of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), had sought political asylum in Bangladesh in 2005, 2008 and 2011 after being arrested in Dhaka in 1997.
He is in jail on charges of illegally entering Bangladesh using a forged passport and for possessing illegal foreign currency and illegal arms. His jail term ended in 2003.
“Anup Chetia’s jail term is over. Bangladesh is ready to hand him over to India. He has appealed to the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, requesting not to be handed over to India. We (Bangladesh) have no specific law to entertain his appeal,” Alamgir told reporters.
He said after the completion of court formalities and getting the final decision of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Chetia would be handed over to India.
Alamgir was in Tripura for the inauguration of an international standard Integrated Check Post at the Akhaurah border near Agartala, the capital of the northeastern state.
“After a joint effort by both countries, the extradition treaty was signed recently to make the two nations crimeless. We want to flush out all types of social crimes in both countries,” he said.
The minister said there was no Indian militant camp on the Bangladesh soil.
“Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already said that the country’s soil would never be used by insurgents of India,” Alamgir said.
“We have requested the Indian authorities to give us the particulars of Indian militants hiding in Bangladesh, if any, and then we would take appropriate action. If there is any militant in Bangladesh, we would certainly hand them over to India.”
Meanwhile, an ULFA faction opposed to peace talks has been trying to carry out extortion drives, particularly among the tea planters, in various districts of Assam.
Tea growers in Upper Assam, mainly those in Dibrugarh and Sivsagar districts, have received extortion notes distributed by cadres of UFLA’s anti-talk faction, demanding hefty sums, garden owners said.
The faction is led by Paresh Baruah reportedly living in exile in camps in Myanmar.
“With instruction from higher authorities, we have decided to collect an annual contribution of Rs15 lakhs to our organisational fund from the tea garden owned by you. This will help stop any misunderstanding between you and our members in future,” read an extortion letter.
“Activists of the outfit have regrouped and started massive extortion drives. They have demanded varied amounts from different tea gardens. While in some letters, they have demanded the owner to pay Rs15 lakh, they have asked some others to cough up Rs50 lakh and even more,” said a member of a leading tea growers’ association, on condition of anonymity.
“The extortion notes distributed by the organisation have been signed by various rank and file of the outfit - self-styled Lt Col Jibon Asom, 2nd Lt Bijoy Asom, etc,” he said.
Inspector General of Police S N Singh said there have been reports that the ULFA faction of Baruah has stepped up extortion drives in some Upper Assam districts.
“We have registered a case after a tea grower approached us with the extortion note distributed by the outfit. We are investigating the matter. It is very difficult because sometimes some fake groups also distribute extortion notes demanding money from the tea growers and businessmen,” he said.
Border trade to be boosted
India is developing border infrastructure along the neighbouring countries to bring the people closer by boosting trade and economy, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said in Tripura’s capital Agartala yesterday. “India will build 13 international standard ICPs (Integrated Check Posts) along the borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar to boost trade and economy with the neighbouring countries,” Shinde said after opening the ICP at Akhaura near Agartala on Bangladesh border. “Ties between India and Bangladesh will never snap but strengthen in future. India-Bangladesh relationship is exemplary time-tested relationship. These ties were initiated by Indira Gandhi (India’s late prime minister) and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (founding father and then president and prime minister of Bangladesh),” he said. Shinde said India is committed to supporting Bangladesh so the two friendly countries grow together for the benefit of the people. “With the building of ICPs, people-to-people contacts will be further strengthened,” he said.