Bangladesh court orders life imprisonment for ULFA leader Ranjan Chowdhury in anti-terrorism case

A Bangladesh court has sentenced Indian separatist outfit ULFA’s leader Ranjan Chowdhury and his associate Pradi Marak to life imprisonment.

Kishoreganj Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 8 April 2015, 06:38 AM
Updated : 8 April 2015, 11:06 AM

The Kishoreganj court on Wednesday gave the verdict in two cases filed against them.

On July 17, 2010, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) men from Lakhsmipur area of Bhairab Upazila, in Kishoreganj, with a number of weapons in their possession.

ULFA leader, Ranjan Chowdhury alias Major Ranjan, had been staying in Bangladesh since 1997 and maintaining contact with the group, the elite police unit had then said.

A pistol, a revolver, four rounds of ammunition and four grenades were seized from them.

Four cases were filed against them the same day under the Arms Act, Explosives Substances Act, illegal entry in the country and anti-terrorism acts.
 

File Photo

The same year, police pressed charges against the two in the cases except the one for illegally entering Bangladesh.

The trials started on Feb 3, 2013.

On Wednesday, the court of Kishoreganj’s District and Sessions Judge delivered verdicts in the cases under the arms and anti-terrorism acts in the presence of the two defendants.

Ranjan was found guilty on both counts, while Pradip was acquitted in the case under the arms act.

The case of illegal entry was resolved on Dec 3, 2013 as they had spent the three year jail term for the offence by then.

Witness depositions in the case under the explosive act is still going on.

After the arrests in 2012, RAB had said that Ranjan Chowdhury was referred to as major Ranjan as he specialised in military training and was working for ULFA since 1990.

Ranjan, who hails from Dhubri Gouripur's Madhu Shoulmari area of Assam, had carried out several operations under aliases such as Ranjan Sisim, Pradip Roy, Dwip Jyoti, Ranju Barhoi and Masud Chowdhury, according to RAB.

He escaped to Bangladesh in 1995 after serving a year in prison in India. However, he was in constant touch with ULFA leaders in Bhutan and Nepal, including its military wing chief Paresh Barua.

Ranjan lived at Gazni in Jhenaigati Upazila in Sherpur, Bangladesh, and married a Bangladeshi woman Sabitri Dum in 2001. It is said that ULFA leaders Paresh Barua and Shashadhar Chowdhury attended the marriage ceremony.

His associate Pradip Marak used to work for a local NGO in Sherpur, but later got involved with ULFA after coming into contact with Ranjan.

According to Indian media reports citing intelligence sources, ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, along with several other members of the separatist group, was nabbed in Bangladesh on Nov 30, 2009.

However, in December 2009, Indian authorities said Rajkhowa and a few associates, including his body guard Raja Bora and military wing deputy commander-in-chief Raju Barua, had been arrested from Indian territory.

It was later proved that Rajkhowa has long been staying in Bangladesh under the alias Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury and even had a Bangladeshi passport, certifying him to be a citizen by birth.

Media reports suggest that ULFA’s military wing chief Paresh Barua has visited Bangladesh several times.

In 2014, a Bangladesh court had found him guilty of smuggling a huge cache of arms in to Bangladesh and ordered the death penalty.

ULFA’s founding General Secretary Anup Chetia was arrested on Dec 21, 1997 from Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area.

He was sentenced to three, four and seven years in jail for trespassing into Bangladesh, possession of forged Bangladeshi passports and foreign currency, and the possession of a satellite phone.

His prison terms ended on Feb 25, 2007, but is still being held kept at the Kashimpur prison in Gazipur.

Chetia appealed to for being sent home in June, 2013. The same year an extradition treaty was signed between India and Bangladesh.

New Delhi wants him back so that he could join other ULFA leaders in the peace process with the government.

Bangladesh State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal had told Parliament in 2014 that Chetia’s appeal was ‘being processed’.