ULFA leader Anup Chetia again sent to five-day CBI custody

ULFA leader Anup Chetia has again been remanded for five days in CBI custody by a court in Assam.

CBI officials brought Chetia to Guwahati from New Delhi amidst tight security on Wednesday.

He was then produced at the court of the chief judicial magistrate.

After the court's proceedings, the CBI officers took Chetia back to New Delhi with them.

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has offered amnesty to the ULFA leader.

Talking to a section of the media Gogoi said if Chetia wished to participate in the ongoing peace talks with the government, all his previous crimes might be pardoned.

Chetia, who was in a Bangladesh jail for 18 years, was arrested in connection with a murder case after he was brought to India on Nov 11.

There are more than 14 cases registered in several police stations in Assam against him.

The Assam government has also written a letter to the Home Ministry seeking Chetia's custody.

Talking over the phone to a local TV channel from an unknown location, ULFA (I) chief Paresh Baruah, who is opposed to talks with the Indian government, stressed that there were no differences between Chetia and him.

Baruah, who has been sentenced to death in an arms smuggling case in Bangladesh, said that Chetia was an important leader of the outfit.

He said Anup Chetia was one of the three leaders who were instrumental in christening the organisation as ULFA.

Baruah along with Pradip Gogoi and Chetia had named the organisation, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).

ULFA General Secretary Anup Chetia being taken into five-day CBI custody after he appeared before the CJM Court in Guwahati on Wednesday. Photo: Subhamoy Bhattacharjee

ULFA General Secretary Anup Chetia being taken into five-day CBI custody after he appeared before the CJM Court in Guwahati on Wednesday. Photo: Subhamoy Bhattacharjee

A large crowd gathered outside the court to catch a glimpse of the 48-year-old Chetia, who was taken directly to the chief judicial magistrate’s court after his arrival from New Delhi.

His vehicle was taken inside the court’s compound to keep him away from waiting journalists and the huge crowd.

Chetia’s lawyer Bijan Mahajan told journalists that the defence would move for the ULFA leader’s bail.

Chetia’s family members and even his colleagues from the pro-talks faction of ULFA, which is participating in the peace talks with the government, were not allowed to meet Chetia though they had gone to the airport to see him.

Chetia’s wife Monika Baruah, ULFA ‘foreign secretary’ Sashadhar Choudhury, and other leaders of the outfit were present at the court premises but they too were not allowed to meet him as he had been whisked inside.