The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Two more top terrorists were handed over to Bangladesh by India yesterday at the Benapole check post.

Indian CID Inspector Shantanu Chakraborty formally handed over Imon and Ishaq to Additional Superintendent of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Abdullah Aref in presence of officials of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF).

The names of the two terrorists are Sanjedul Islam Imon, son of late Harun-ur-Rashid of Dhanmondi and Ishaq Ali, son of Shawkat Ali of Sutrapur in the city.

Abdullah Aref said Joy, Haris and Dacoit Shahid, whom the Indian police recently arrested, are likely to be handed over to Bangladesh very soon.

Indian Police on December 3 last year pushed back two terrorists, Babul alias Jewel and Rofiq Mollick at the Benapole check post.

On October 7 in 2007 India handed over Taj, Ibrahim and Lamba Selim, three of the most wanted terrorists.

The handing over of Imon and Ishaq follows long high-level negotiations between officials of both the countries. Indian CID authorities handed over the two listed Bangladeshi criminals, who had taken shelter in the Indian State of West Bengal, to their Bangladesh counterparts at about 2:55pm.

Top listed terrorist Imon demanded toll of Tk one crore from a businessman of the old town of the capital over telephone from Kolkata, in November last year. The businessman informed police about the demand from the overseas. After identifying the Kolkata phone number, CID police in Dhaka passed on the information to the Kolkata police.

Kolkata police arrested Imon from his flat at Ghalib Street in Kolkata on December 6 last year, based on the information provided by their Bangladeshi colleagues.

However, the other terrorist, Ishaq Ali, known as second-in-command of Dacoit Shahid, was arrested from Bengal Guesthouse of Puri in the State of Orissa in India on January 20 this year.

Both were wanted in some 15 cases, including of murders and extortions.

Earlier, on February 3, a special CID team from Bangladesh comprising Additional SP Abdullah Aref and Inspector Shyamol Chowdhury went to

Kolkata to discuss repatriation of Bangladesh's most wanted top terrors Khandaker Tanvirul Islam Joy, Haris Ahmed, Sanjidul Islam Imon, Dacoit Shahid and his second-in-command Ishaq Ali, who were then in police custody in Kolkata.

The five criminals who returned last year confessed during interrogation many other terrorists and militant leaders are hiding in India.

Most of the criminals, who were involved in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on Awami League rally, are also in India.

The CID Additional IGP Javed Patwary told the New Nation that the high officials of the two countries met several times to discuss about the exchange of criminals between the two countries.