Dhaka to seek handover of top criminals

Bangladesh would request repatriation of top criminals hiding in India at the home secretary-level meeting between the two countries beginning in Dhaka today.

It was only on November 11 Bangladesh deported Ulfa leader Anup Chetia, and a day after that India handed over prime accused of the sensational seven-murder case of Narayanganj Nur Hossain.

The two events are making Bangladesh hopeful of bringing back some top criminals hiding in India, said a key official of the home ministry.

According to law enforcement agencies, around 40 top criminals are either in Indian jails or are hiding in that country.

The criminals include: Shahadat Hossain, Khandaker Tanveer Islam Joy, Nabi Hossain Nabi, Molla Masud, Chittagong Chhatra Shibir cadre and eight murder accused Sazzad Hossain, Khan Suman, Norouttam Saha Ashiq, Jisan, Prakash Kumar Biswas, Bikash Kumar Biswas, Shamim Ahmed Aga Shamim, Haris Ahmed, Kala Chan.

Another top criminal, Subrata Bain, who had been in Nepal, has now trespassed into India, sources said.

Sources in the law enforcement agencies said those criminals, each of whom are accused in several murder cases, have been collecting toll from people, particularly businessmen, in Bangladesh through their local cohorts.

At the meeting today, India is expected to raise the issues of the influx of fake Indian currency, cattle smuggling, and illegal infiltration. It would seek Dhaka's cooperation to completely stop these.

Bangladesh would raise the issues of border killings, human trafficking, and drugs smuggling during the two-day parley, said a top official of the ministry yesterday.

Terrorism and militancy might also be discussed following the recent events in Paris.

The meeting starts at 1:00pm at Hotel Sonargaon with the working groups of both the countries meeting on the first day. The home secretaries would sit tomorrow morning and sign deals, said a top home ministry official.

Senior Secretary to the Home Ministry Mozammel Haque Khan would lead the Bangladesh delegation while Indian Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi would be his counterpart.

“We'll also want to know specifically whether any killer of Bangabandhu is staying there. If anyone is there we'll request them to hand him over,” a home ministry official told The Daily Star wishing anonymity.

Our New Delhi correspondent adds: India's Border Security Force has said the firings at the borders have been the result of its attempt to curb cattle smuggling on the instructions of the Indian government.

According to an official estimate, smuggling of cattle to Bangladesh has come down by more than 70 percent, resulting in a sharp increase in the price of beef in Bangladesh.

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said in September that about 20-22 lakh cattle were smuggled to Bangladesh every year and it had come down to 2 to 2.5 lakh cattle this year.

Bangladesh Home Secretary might also discuss the issue of construction of border outpost near Tripura border as agreed during the last round of talks between the two home secretaries.

India has agreed to help Bangladesh build the outpost along Tripura border on their side. Bangladesh has sought permission to bring engineers, raw material and workers through Indian territory, since the area is unapproachable from Bangladesh.