ULFA leader Anup Chetia has been handed over to the Indian authorities by Bangladesh, said Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin.
He told the Dhaka Tribune that Anup was handed over to an Indian delegation on Wednesday morning.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal also confirmed the repatriation to the Dhaka Tribune.
However earlier in the day, he denied of having information regarding Anup Chetia's repatriation. He made the statement in reply to a query from journalists this morning.
He said: "I do not have any idea about the repatriation.It could be."
By Somoy TV
Later, the home minister told the Dhaka Tribune: "He [Anup] has been handed over to Indian authorities on completion of his jail term in Bangladesh."
Chetia, who was in Bangladesh since his arrest by the neighbouring country’s police in 1997, was handed over to India at the personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and through active involvement of NSA Ajit Doval.
Chetia was handed over on Wednesday morning, highly-placed sources told PTI.
Read more: Nur Hossain for Anup Chetia?
According to a report of Times of India, the deportation was okayed by Dhaka late on Tuesday after intervention at the highest level of the Indian government, concluding protracted deliberations in the matter.
Quoting a source of Indian Home Ministry, the news outlet reported: "Chetia, who was arrested by the Dhaka authorities in 1997 and has already completed his sentence there, is likely to be brought to Delhi later on Wednesday by a CBI team. His custody may then be given to Assam police."
The development follows on the heels of the deportation to India of underworld don Chhota Rajan, one of country’s most-wanted criminals, who was on the run for 27 years.
Take a look: Government yet to move for Anup Chetia repatriation: MK Alamgir
Chetia, a founding member of ULFA and its general secretary, is wanted for murder, abductions and extortion in India. He had sought political asylum in Bangladesh thrice in 2005, 2008 and in 2011 after Bangladesh police arrested him in December 1997 and was subsequently handed seven years of jail terms by two courts for cross-border intrusion, carrying fake passports and illegally keeping foreign currencies.
Despite the expiry of his term, Chetia was in jail under a 2003 high court directive asking authorities to keep him in safe custody until a decision was taken on his asylum plea.
