Missing piece in Ulfa peace jigsaw - Chetia back from Bangla

Anup Chetia’s son Bumoni Barua and wife Monica Barua at the home of pro-talks 

Ulfa leader Mrinal Hazarika in Guwahati on Wednesday. They are likely to leave 

for New Delhi on Thursday. “I am very happy as my husband is back in India after 

being in jail for 18 years,” Monica said. Bumoni said he was five years old when his 

father left home. Picture by UB Photos

Nishit Dholabhai and Pankaj Sarma, TT, Nov. 11: Golap Barua alias Anup Chetia, the Ulfa leader who fled India 23 years ago, has been brought back to India from Bangladesh, fuelling hopes that a key piece in the peace jigsaw will now fall into place.

Chetia, 58, was the general secretary of the united Ulfa, which has now split into pro-talks and anti-talks factions, when he was arrested in Calcutta in 1991 before jumping parole a year later.

Chetia was also the mentor to his cousin Paresh Barua, who heads Ulfa (Independent) that is against talks without an assurance on sovereignty for Assam. (See chart)

The stand of Chetia has not been explicitly spelt out. But the fact that he himself facilitated his deportation by withdrawing an application for asylum in Bangladesh, where he had been jailed since 1997 for possessing a fake passport, is being viewed as an indication that he wants to take part in the talks.

The timing of Chetia's homecoming is also significant. The second round of talks with Ulfa is scheduled for November 24, less than a fortnight away.

Feared in the 1990s for its refusal to spare civilian targets, Ulfa was considered one of the most powerful and ferocious militant outfits in South Asia.

But the organisation was also popular in Assam for some time and raised considerable resources through a violent extortion campaign. However, for the past eight years or so, no major attacks have been linked to Ulfa.

A measure of the Ulfa leader's popularity became evident today when pro-talks leader Mrinal Hazarika said: "Chetia is the Nelson Mandela of Assam."

Anup Chetia

Indian security sources have been saying that Chetia has been kept abreast of the peace process even though he was in jail in Bangladesh.

The Indian government has been pursuing his return for some years but Chetia's asylum application meant that he was told to stay on in jail for safe custody in Bangladesh even though his seven-year term was over long ago. He spent 18 years in jail in Bangladesh.

India and Bangladesh had signed an extradition treaty in 2013 but it is awaiting ratification - which meant Chetia could be brought back only if he withdrew the asylum application or Bangladesh took the final decision on the plea.

Having been approached by the pro-talks faction at least five times in the last three years to join the negotiations, Chetia withdrew his application for asylum in Bangladesh this year, opening up the possibility for his deportation.

The exercise was conducted by officers of the Intelligence Bureau and the CBI under the watch of national security adviser Ajit Doval, according to sources. CBI and IB officials will question Chetia here before he is handed over to Assam police.Yesterday, Chetia was handed over to a CBI team in Dhaka and was flown to New Delhi this afternoon.

"PM Narendramodi spoke to Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina. He wished PM Hasina on Diwali & thanked her for the help in fighting terrorism," a tweet from the Prime Minister's Office said today.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh and minister of state Kiren Rijiju termed the deportation of Chetia a major breakthrough and thanked Hasina. Chetia is the second fugitive to be deported to India this month after Chhota Rajan was brought back from Indonesia on November 6.

Several police cases are pending against Chetia in Assam. He was active in the Assam Movement and went underground in 1983. Chetia could not attend college but is considered to be "diplomatically well-versed".

Chetia was arrested from Calcutta in 1991 but released on parole along with four other Ulfa leaders from jail to hold talks with the then Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, in Delhi in January 1992. Chetia fled India in March that year.

The BJP is expected to look for political dividends from the peace process as Assam is heading to polls next year. Assam is one of the states where the BJP, which has been poaching on the ruling Congress, is hoping to make big gains.

Ulfa vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi told The Telegraph today that all along, the organisation had been requesting the Centre to bring Chetia to Assam so that he could join the peace talks.

"Chetia was very keen to return to Assam and we are hopeful that he will join the peace talks with the government," Pradip Gogoi said. "His presence among us will help us in taking forward the peace process and give a final shape to our agreement with the Centre."

Led by chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, Ulfa (pro-talks) has been holding talks with the Centre.

Another Ulfa leader said the talks were as good as wrapped up, barring the issue of listing six communities in Assam as Scheduled Tribes. "That has been one of our key demands, which is pending settlement. Once that happens, I don't see any reason why the parties cannot sign and seal an agreement," he said.

Asked whether the course of the dialogue would alter substantially if Chetia joins the talks, a senior official in Delhi said the Ulfa leader was not in the dark about the discussions. "I believe they (Ulfa) had kept him informed through their own channels and he is aware of the contours of the talks," he said.

"The talks are at an advanced stage and I don't think there could be any significant material change now," the official said. "Chetia should also not find it difficult to agree with what has been achieved so far," he added.

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said in a statement issued in Guwahati: "We believe Chetia will play an important role in the ongoing (negotiations)."

The chief minister said the Centre should hand over Chetia to Assam. Chetia should be given the opportunity to play an important role in the peace talks, he added.

A joyous mood prevailed at Chetia's ancestral village, Jerai Gaon, at Chabua in Upper Assam's Dibrugarh district. Phatik Phukan, the village headman, said everyone was eagerly waiting to welcome the rebel leader.

Chetia's 82-year-old older brother Suren Barua said Chetia shares a good rapport with Paresh Barua and may try to convince him to join the peace process.

"It is good news that after 18 years he (Chetia) is coming back. I have tried my best in the past to bring him to India and at last the Bangladesh government has decided to send him back. Many a time in the past, we had made elaborate arrangements at our home to welcome Golap but every time we were disappointed. I've become old now. Now it is his duty to take responsibility of the household," Suren Barua added.

Additional reporting by Avik Chakraborty and Parmeshwar Puri