Anup Chetia's extradition to India by December: Home secy

Jailed ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia in Bangladesh would be extradited to India by December this year, Union Home Affairs joint secretary (Northeast) Shambhu Singh has said.
However, Singh regretted that ULFA(I) C-in-C Paresh Baruah had failed to respond to repeated calls to come to the negotiation table.
"He (Chetia alias Golap Baruah) will be here... By mid-December this year. As per our information it will take not longer than mid December," Singh told reporters on the sidelines of his meeting with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi here yesterday.
Singh said the government's efforts for Chetia's extradition had yielded positive results after Bangladesh signed an extradition treaty with New Delhi whereby both the countries have agreed to deport wanted 'criminals' lodged in each other's jails.

Chetia's participation in the government-ULFA peace talks is considered essential as in the last tripartite dialogues in Delhi on June 26, Chetia's deportation was discussed with the ULFA leaders pressing for his early extradition.
The proscribed insurgent outfit's founder general secretary was in a Bangladesh jail at Kashimpur of Dhaka since 1997 after his arrest there on December 21, 1997 on charges of illegally entering Bangladesh using a forged passport, possessing illegal foreign currency and illegal arms.

After serving his seven years sentence awarded by a Bangladesh court till 2003, the most sought-after militant by the government was shifted to the Kashimpur prison from Rajshahi Central Jail in June after he petitioned the Bangladesh government wanting to withdraw his earlier appeal for political asylum in that country and instead be sent back to his home in India.

On ULFA (Independent) C-in-C Paresh Baruah returning to the main stream, Singh said the Home Ministry had approached Baruah many times to come to the negotiation table, but he has not yet responded.
"He wants to stay in China and is happy to make money smuggling arms. If he has this kind of attitude, how we can persuade him to sit in the negotiation table," the union home affairs official said.