Nur Hossain to come, Anup Chetia to go:Daily Sun

  India and Bangladesh have finally agreed to hand over Anup Chetia, a top Indian separatist leader, and Nur Hossain, wanted in sensational seven-murder case in Narayanganj, to the legitimate authorities. The significant development came from the ongoing secretary-level meeting that began at a city hotel on Wednesday. To this end, both sides are likely to ink an agreement today (Thursday) during t
he meeting. The deal will also cover the issues relating to other criminals languishing in jails in Bangladesh and India. Home Secretary Mozammel Haque Khan is leading a 13-member delegation and his counterpart Anil Goswami a 12-member Indian team. Talking to journalists after the meeting, Mozammel said Bangladesh does not have any objection to handing over Anup Chetia, general secretary of United Liberation Front of Assam, to India. “We don’t have any objection to sending Anup Chetia to India in line with the proper legal process,” he mentioned. Recently, an official of Indian High Commission met Chetia at Kashimpur jail in Gazipur. Chetia told the official to go home if there is no legal bar. Back in 1997, Bangladeshi police arrested Chetia in Dhaka. He was sentenced to seven years in jail in three cases filed for possessing arms, fake passport and his illegal intrusion. Chetia’s jail term ended on February 25, 2007, but he still languishes in jail. Mozammel also said both sides have agreed to ratify the Land Boundary Agreement and initiate effective measures to bring down border killings to zero. They have also decided to address a number of pending issues as the new Indian government has shown positive signals. Meanwhile, additional secretary for home Kamal Uddin Ahmed said the meeting had been very fruitful. “We’ve discussed various security-related issues and reached agreements on a number of outstanding issues like handover of sentenced persons.” Kamal said they have sought to bring back 32 sentenced persons while India handed over a list of 12 people jailed here. “Both sides have agreed on it.” On September 2, India also handed over a list of 879 Bangladeshi nationals imprisoned there. Ministry officials said the two sides had signed the land boundary deal in 1972, which Bangladesh ratified immediately but India did not due for various reasons. As a result, the agreement remained ineffective. Regarding cross-border killings, Kamal said border tensions would calm down. He said both sides have agreed to set up an immigration point at Banglabanda and Fulbaria for the promotion of trade and tourism. Trans-boundary human trafficking and drug trade were also discussed and agreed to address the issues with effective measures. “We have agreed on it for the welfare of both the countries’ young generations.” In the afternoon, Indian home secretary called on foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali. But Mahmood declined to make any comment on the issues discussed. A foreign ministry official, who attended the meeting, said, “Discussions were fruitful. I see a significant progress in addressing the long-standing bilateral issues.” The official, however, did not detail anything. On August 19, Tipu Munshi, chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Ministry, said the ministry has sent necessary documents to foreign ministry for bringing back Nur Hossain. Kolkata police arrested Nur and his two aides during a joint drive on June 14 from a multi-storey apartment complex.