Dhaka hands over rebels to BSF

From Telegraph OUR BUREAU

Sept. 24: Bangladesh “pushed back” 15 middle-level Ulfa leaders and some of their wives and children into Meghalaya on Wednesday night, police have said. The BSF today handed them over to Assam police, who were bringing them to Guwahati in six vehicles, sources said. Bangladesh’s move, coinciding with a Dhaka visit by an Indian delegation headed by BSF chief Raman Srivastava, is being seen as a renewed offensive against Ulfa. But Ulfa leader Jiten Dutta, who has come overground in Assam seeking peace talks with the government, said these 15 leaders had left the outfit following differences with commander-in-chief Paresh Barua. “This indicates that a majority of Ulfa leaders want peace talks but have been forced to stay with the outfit because of Barua, who is against talks,” Dutta said. Barua claimed in an email that some “cadres” and their family members had “fled” their camps with the help of Indian intelligence and the support of “two of our senior jailed leaders”. Sources in Dhaka said the rebels and their relatives were “picked up” from their bases in Bangladesh. The handover came at Halchati in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district. There is some confusion about the exact number of the deportees, with some sources claiming there were at least 28 of them, including eight women and five children. The surrendered leaders’ names are yet to be released but Dutta claimed they included “captains” Pradyut Gohain, Apurba Baruah, Arpan Saikia and Biju Deka and “lieutenant” Anu Borgohain. In the past one year, the Hasina Wajed government has handed over to the BSF several top Ulfa leaders, including chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and deputy commander-in-chief Raju Barua, and top Bodo militant Ranjan Daimary. Since the two countries lack an extradition treaty, the BSF had claimed the militants had “surrendered” on being challenged by its personnel at the Meghalaya border. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100925/jsp/nation/story_12980116.jsp