Extradition treaty tops Indo-Bangla agenda

India and Bangladesh are expected to sign the long pending extradition treaty during prime minister Manmohan Singh’s two-day visit to Dhaka beginning on Tuesday.

Though Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government is in favour of ratifying extradition treaty with India, the move has been hanging fire because of resistance from the fundamentalist lobby whose grip is on the decline now.

Besides enabling legal handing over of United Liberation Front of Asom’s (ULFA) general secretary Anup Chetia to the Indian authorities soon, the new legal arrangement would help in the extradition of ULFA’s commander in-chief Paresh Barua if he ventures to enter Bangladesh territory, and fugitives of other anti-India and terrorist groups hiding in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is expected to issue a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Paresh Barua once the warrant issued by a Chittangong court is returned by the Indian authorities after verification. A couple of days ago the warrant issued by the Metropolitan Session judge of Chittagong special tribunal No 1, was handed over to India through the Indian high commission in Dhaka.

The PM's visit is also expected to resolve border disputes among the two countries by settling the issues of enclaves and land under adverse possession.

An agreement on enclaves would result in swapping of 111 Indian enclaves and 51 Bangladeshi. A bargain on adverse possession would lead to handing over of approximately 500 acres of land to Bangladesh, while India would gaining about 120 acres in Assam, West Bengal and Tripura, sources said.