NEW DELHI: Five months after both the countries signed an extradition treaty agreeing to deport each other’s wanted criminals, Bangladesh has moved closer to deliver on its promise by preparing to deport the banned outfit ULFA’sgeneral secretary Anup Chetia soon. Chetia has been in jail in that country since 1997.

“New Delhi has recently been sounded about the move by Dhakha. Deportation is most likely to take place in July”, said a senior government official.

Chetia’s recent step of withdrawing his petition seeking asylum in Bangladesh would pave the way for Dhakha to deliver on its promise. Chetia took this turn as per the outcome of the talks between ULFA and government this month when the latter is learnt to have agreed to take lenient approach in treating the outfit’s general secretary after his deportation to India.

Sources here indicated that the government would not oppose Chetia’s bail application once he is back and tried for pending cases in Assamcourt. He would be treated like other key ULFA leaders including the outfit’s chairman Arbinda Rajkhowa who joined talks with the government. The Assam Police did not oppose bail pleas of eight senior ULFA leaders after their arrest, they added.

It is learnt that Chetia had submitted two applications in a Dhaka court this month. One pertained to withdrawal of his petition seeking asylum in Bangladesh while the second one was related to request for repatriation to India.

It is expected here that the Dhaka court would take its view on both these applications soon, clearing the way for Chetia’s deportation to India sometime next month.

Though Bangladesh had expressed its willingness to deport Chetia long ago, the promise remained unfulfilled due to the pending application in the Court.

Chetia was arrested in Bangladesh in 1997 for forging travel documents. Though he had served his jail sentence for the offence long ago, he has been under detention there pending his plea for ‘political asylum’. His deportation, under the law in neighboring country, is not possible unless he withdraws his plea.

As part of the ongoing peace process, the government had signed ceasefire with the outfit in 2011 to end violence in the troubled northeastern state. The agreement, signed by the representatives of central and Assam governments and ULFA, is meant to ensure that the outfit will not carry out any subversive activities till finding a political solution to the vexed insurgency problem while the security forces will not take any action against its cadres.

Source: Times of India