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| Bangladesh |
| IGP rejects claim of Ulfa mens arrest |
| 2009-11-06 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] Bangladesh police chief has rejected the Ulfa's claim that two of its top leaders were arrested in Dhaka on Sunday and then handed over to India. "I don't have any information about such arrests or handover (of Ulfa leaders) to India," Inspector General of Police Nur Mohammad told The Daily Star. Quoting a spokesperson of Indian separatist group United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), Times of India reported yesterday that the outfit's foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury and finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika were picked up by Bangladeshi intelligence sleuths at midnight Sunday from a house in Dhaka's Uttara area. "Seven to eight people in civvies took the two leaders saying the duo were being summoned for some interrogation by senior officials. After that there was no information of them and we suspect they might have been handed over to our enemies (meaning India)," Ulfa's military spokesperson Raju Baruah told the local media via telephone and email, the Times of India reported. It also reported, there is, however, no confirmation from Dhaka or New Delhi. Assam police and Indian intelligence officials expressed ignorance about the reports. New Delhi in the past had repeatedly claimed that northeast militants were operating out of bases in Bangladesh with several of their top leaders staying safe in Dhaka. Bangladesh had earlier denied such allegations. However, the new Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina assured New Delhi of all support and cooperation to evict any Indian separatists from Bangladesh, the Indian daily reported. The report concluded saying Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia -- in a Dhaka prison since 1997 -- is in Bangladesh due to the absence of any extradition agreement between the two countries, despite New Delhi's formal appeals to hand him over for trial in India. |
| Posted by:Fred |