Anup Chetia ( Assamese: অনুপ চেতিয়া) (real name Golap Baruah also known as Sunil Baruah, Bhaijan or Ahmed) is the General Secretary of the banned

United Liberation Front of Assam The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Assamese: সংযুক্ত মুক্তি বাহিনী, অসম) is an armed separatist organisation operating in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. It seeks to establish an indep ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. He is also one of the founder leaders of the group. He was born at Jerai Gaon in

Tinsukia Tinsukia (Pron: ˌtɪnˈsʊkiə) is an industrial town. It is situated north-east of Guwahati and away from the border with Arunachal Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Tinsukia District of Assam, India. History During th ...

district of

Arrest

Chetia was first arrested in March, 1991 in Assam but was released by then Chief Minister

Hiteswar Saikia Hiteswar Saikia (3 October 1936 – 22 April 1996) was the chief minister of Assam for two terms, first from 28 February 1983 to 23 December 1985 and then from 30 June 1991 to 22 April 1996. Family and education Hiteswar Saikia was born on 3 ...

. Later on 21 December 1997 he was again arrested in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

under the Foreigners Act and the Passports Act for illegally carrying foreign currencies and a satellite phone. He was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment by a Bangladeshi court and was being held at Kashimpur Jail in the outskirts of Dhaka.

Charges

Chetia was charged with: * Illegally entering Bangladesh using a forged passport * Possession of illegal foreign currency from 16 countries * Illegal possession of arms. He was also wanted by the

Assam Police The Assam Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Assam in India. A regular police force was initiated in Assam by the British after the Treaty of Yandaboo to maintain the law and order. It functions under the Department of Home Af ...

for various cases including killing, kidnapping and extortion.

Extradition

Since his arrest in 1997, the Government of India has asked Bangladesh to extradite Chetia. The request was refused by Bangladesh on the ground that the two countries do not have an extradition treaty. However, India is still hopeful that the

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

government would accede to the request in view of its tough resolve against terrorism. The '' Union Home Affairs joint secretary (north east)'' has recently said that Chetia will most probably be handed over to the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

by the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...

, by December 2013. After the 15th India-Bangladesh Home Secretary-level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh Home Affairs Secretary Mozammel Haque Khan has confirmed that Bangladesh has agreed to hand over Anup Chetia to India, which will send back Nur Hossain, prime accused in a case of seven murders in Narayanganj.

Seeking Political Asylum

On 7 December 2008, Chetia had written to the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

urging it to grant him refugee status and political asylum in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. In a letter to António Guterres, head of the Geneva-based

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...

, Chetia pleaded that he had already completed seven years of imprisonment and hence was no longer a convict to be held in a jail.

ULFA The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Assamese: সংযুক্ত মুক্তি বাহিনী, অসম) is an armed separatist organisation operating in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. It seeks to establish an indep ...

also appealed for political asylum in a safe country.

Present status

Although Chetia was the General Secretary of

, political analysts in the region doubt his current influence within the organization. On 11 November 2015, Anup was handed over by Bangladesh Government to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Anup Chetia has been released from the Guahati jail on bail on 24 December 2015.

References

External links

ULFA–I appeals to Hasina not to use Chetia’s extradition as a bargaining tool
'' The Sentinel''
ULFA urges Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to give honourable and decent repatriation to Anup Chetia
''

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chetia, Anup People from Tinsukia district Living people 1967 births Prisoners and detainees from Assam Indian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Bangladesh ULFA members Insurgency in Northeast India