Chetia, anti-terror steps to be discussed at Indo-Bangla talks

New Delhi/Dhaka, Jan 17 (PTI) Handing over of ULFA leaderAnup Chetia to India, cooperation in anti-terror steps andfiring along the international border will be high on theagenda during the Home Secretary level talks between India andBangladesh beginning Wednesday.

Indian delegation, led by Union Home Secretary Gopal KPillai, will engage in extensive deliberations with theBangladesh team, headed Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder, onall bilateral security issues during the two day dialogue inDhaka.

Pillai is expected to take up with Sikder the issue ofearly handing over ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia, who hascompleted his sentence in Bangladesh, to India so that he canparticipate in the proposed peace talks with the bannedoutfit.

Chetia has been languishing in a Dhaka jail even sincehis arrest on December 21, 1997. ULFA chairman ArabindaRajkhowa has also asked government to take steps for the earlyreturn of Chetia.

Both the delegations will discuss cooperation inanti-terror measures and how to broaden the intelligencesharing mechanism between the two countries to checkactivities of terror outfits.

Dhaka is expected to raise the issue of border shootoutsas Sikdar has already declared that "our main focus will bethe non-stop killing of Bangladeshi citizens around theborders".

Sources in New Delhi said Indian security forces weredeployed along the international border to guard illegalinfiltration, smuggling and other illegal activities and anyaction of their part was within the jurisdiction of law.

India shares a 4095 km long border with Bangladesh. PTIACB AR