With the Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaving for Bangladesh on Saturday, hope has returned once again to a family in Tinsukia District in eastern Assam. The family of Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia alias Golap Baruah is hoping that the Prime Minister will take up with his Bangladesh counterpart the issue of extradition of the Ulfa leader, who has been lodged in a jail in the neighbouring country for last 18 years.
“For last 18 years, we have been hoping to see him. We do not know when we would be able to see him,” said Suren Baruah, elder brother of Chetia. He said that the extradition of Baruah will impact the peace process between the Ulfa and the Government of India. The extradition of Chetia has been one of the main demands of the pro-talk faction of the Ulfa leaders, who are participating in the peace process with the Government of India.
Born in Jerai Gaon in Tinsukia District, Chetia is one of the key leaders of the outfit. Chetia, a founder member of the outfit, was arrested in 1997 in Bangladesh. He was charged with illegally entering the country using a forged passport and possessing illegal foreign currency and arms. Subsequently, he was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment by a Bangladeshi court.
Indian Government could not bring Chetia for long due to absence of an extradition treaty between the two countries. However, the process of Chetia’s extradition started after signing of extradition treaty between the two countries last year. Chetia had also volunteered to be repatriated rather than be kept in protective custody of Bangladesh.
Unofficial sources said that the Bangladesh had also sought two top criminals of the country, who are currently lodged in Indian jail, in exchange for Chetia. In 2013, Ulfa’s anti-talk faction led by Chairman Abhijeet Asom had claimed to have sent a letter to the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urging her not to use Chetia as a bargaining tool for seeking custody of two criminals of the country.
“Chetia is not a criminal but the leader of freedom loving people of Assam. Handing him (Chetia) over to colonial administration of India in exchange of criminals of your country would be a great humiliation and will hurt the sentiments of the people of Assam,” the Ulfa chairman said in the letter, which was dated July 15, 2013.