ULFA leader Chetia to face criminal cases once he returns

Banned ULFA 'general secretary' Anup Chetia, who is currently in a jail in Bangladesh, may return home by next month after his request for repatriation to India but he will have to face various cases, including murder and extortion, registered against him in Assam.
A senior Home Ministry official said Chetia had given two applications in a Dhaka court -- one withdrawal of his petition seeking asylum in Bangladesh and second request for repatriation to India.
The Bangladeshi court is expected to take a view on his applications within the next fortnight and following which he is likely to be back in India.

"Hopefully, he will be back in India by next month," the official said.
Asked whether 46-year-old Chetia would have to face various cases registered against him in Assam, the Home Ministry official said, "Naturally, the normal judicial process will follow."
Chetia was wanted by the Assam Police for various cases including killing, kidnapping and extortion.

Chetia also sought repatriation of two other fellow detained ULFA leaders -- Laxmiprasad Goswami and Babul Sharma -- who are lodged in separate prisons in Bangladesh.
Chetia was arrested in Bangladesh in 1997 and was subsequently handed down seven years of jail term by a court for cross-border intrusion, carrying fake passports and illegally keeping foreign currencies.

Despite the end of his term, the ULFA leader is in jail under a 2003 High Court directive to keep him in safe custody until the government makes a decision on his petition seeking political asylum in Bangladesh.
The latest development came five months after India and Bangladesh signed an extradition treaty agreeing to deport wanted "criminals" lodged in each prisons.