OntoreBangladesh

BdOsint Special: ULFA leaders capture in Bangladesh and hand over to India

Posted by Admin On November - 7 - 2009

http://cbi.nic.in/rnotice/images/dhar.jpg

Sashadhar Choudhury
Assam Police File Photo

Speculations continues whether 2 ULFA leaders who were reportedly staying in Bangladesh 'surrendered' or were captured in Dhaka and later 'pushed in' to India.

Assam Tribune says: Ending days of speculations, Border Security Force (BSF) has taken into custody two elusive ULFA leaders, foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury and finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika after they ’surrendered’ last night at Gokulnagar along the Indo-Bangladesh border in the Tripura sector. Official version being dished out is that the two top leaders were fleeing Bangladesh following a crackdown by security forces there and surrendered before the BSF in Tripura. They are likely to be handed over to the Assam Police this weekend, BSF sources said here. The two were reportedly trying to enter India on the intervening night of November 4 and 5 when they were spotted by the BSF troops and asked to surrender, the official said. Sources, however, said that the two ULFA leaders were handed over to BSF last night itself in Bangladesh following high-level diplomatic intervention by India. As reported yesterday, India had opened diplomatic channels as soon as it was confirmed that the leaders were detained by security agencies in Dhaka on Sunday night.

Meanwhile The Hindu reports: The BSF has handed over the two top ULFA leaders, who were picked up from the Indo-Bangla border in Tripura, to Assam Police which started their interrogation. Self-styled ULFA foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury and Finance Secretary Chitraban Hazarika, who were pushed into Indian territory by the Bangladeshi authorities, were flown into Guwahati last night in a special aircraft by a team of Assam Police officials. “We have taken over the custody of the two ULFA leaders and they will be produced in a court here today for further custody,” Additional Director General of Assam Police Khagen Sarma told PTI. The special branch of the Assam Police has started their interrogation and they will be joined by sleuths of central intelligence agencies soon.

The banned group reacted quickly calling an Assam bandh on Monday protesting the “military action” and demanding unconditional release of Choudhury and Hazarika. Claiming that the two top leaders were picked by some camouflage men on November 1, a statement issued by the banned group’s chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said, “Instead of pursuing a peaceful political solution to the issue, Indian colonial forces are trying to settle it using military power.” The two — said to be part of the Ulfa “think tank” — are wanted in Assam on charges of sedition. Assam government sources said arrangements were being made to take the two to the state. Officially, however, both India and Bangladesh are keeping silent, given the delicate nature of the issue. Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said he had no “confirmed” information on the whereabouts of the Ulfa leaders.

The Bangladesh police chief meanwhile 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.

From the above speculations it is more than likely that a special Indian Police Commando team or a RAW extricaton unit entered Bangladesh and in a sting operation kidnapped the 2 ULFA leaders.

Go to Source