From Our Special Correspondant
NEW DELHI: The three day long top level Indo-Bangladesh talks which took up the threads left after the visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Dhaka ended on Monday with both sides agreeing to handover wanted elements in each other’s soil but the proposed dam over Tipaimukh had cast a shadow on the bilateral relationship.
Bangladesh had sought the help of New Delhi to track down the convicted killer of the country’s founding leader Sheikh Mujib, who is allegedly hiding in India. India on its parts, sought extraditing Anup Chetia who is in jail in Bangladesh.
The convicted killer of Bangabandhu — former Captain Risaldar Moslehuddin, is hiding somewhere in India to evade their death penalties possibly in West Bengal or in Tripura two Bengali speaking states adjacent to Bangladesh. Though Bangladesh has handed over many Northeast insurgent leaders, Chetia is still in jail.
Both sides agreed to operationalise Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), Transfer of Sentenced Persons (TSP), Agreement on Combating Organized Crime and Illegal Drug Trafficking which were signed during the visit of Sheikh Hasina last year. Both also discussed how to implement the Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) and sign Extradition Treaty. But India’s apparent decision to go ahead with the proposed Tipaimukh dam has created some misunderstanding between the two countries. The visiting Bangladeshi delegation however declined to comment on the highly emotive issue during the joint press conference.
The two Home Secretaries reviewed the functioning of the nodal points for sharing of information on security related matters.