In a major breakthrough, ULFA leader Anup Chetia was handed over by Bangladesh to India. His real name is Golap Barua. He joined the ULFA in the early 1980s and headed its political wing and was instrumental in getting the tea trade in Assam to collectively pay a huge sum of money to his outfit on an annual basis. He had placed several trusted persons in different contracts with the state government to ensure a regular flow of funds to the ULFA. During Operation Bajrang, the first army offensive against the ULFA, Chetia was arrested but he later disappeared. He was arrested subsequently in Dhaka for illegally entering Bangladesh and carrying foreign currency. He possessed three passports at the time of his arrest. However, in 1992, he attended a human rights conference in Geneva. In 1977, Interpol issued a red corner notice on him. By 1993, however, he had found a safe haven in Bangladesh and he visited other countries under different passports allegedly arranged by the Pakistani ISI.
The long-awaited return to India of ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia and his reported willingness to be part of a peace process with New Delhi is a major blow to the anti-talks faction led by Paresh Barua. The pro-talks faction headed by Chairman Arobinda Rajkhowa has most of the senior leaders of the former rebel outfit. Chetia’s presence in Bangladesh had a positive psychological impact on rebels seeking shelter in that country. On the political front, Chetia’s return is likely to help the BJP and cement India’s relations with Bangladesh. With Assam heading for assembly elections early next year, Narendra Modi will have a new point to add about his campaign to solve the ULFA tangle.
