DHAKA, 26 October 2007 — India will deport more Bangladeshi criminals although the two countries do not have a formal extradition treaty, a senior Indian security official said yesterday.
“We will deport 10 (or) 12 Bangladeshi criminals soon after completing the necessary procedures,” Ashish Kumar Mitra, director general of Indian Border Security Force (BSF), told reporters after a meeting with Bangladesh border officials.
In the first week of this month, India deported three Bangladeshi wanted criminals, who had been hiding in India for years.
The three are now in the custody of Bangladesh police, officials said.
The BSF chief arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday for a weeklong visit to participate in talks with Maj. Gen. Shakil Ahmed, chief of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border guards.
Officials said the BDR and BSF would discuss a range of issues including “cross-border terrorism, smuggling and human trafficking.” Bangladesh and India share a 4,000-km border and frequently accuse one another of harboring terrorists.
Bangladesh, in several phases, has handed lists to India of 373 known and suspected criminals, for tracking and returning them to Dhaka, Bangladeshi officials said. “There are 10 (or) 12 Bangladeshi criminals detained in Kolkata,” said Mitra, who has also met Iftikhar Ahmed Chowdhury, foreign affairs adviser to Bangladesh’s caretaker government.
The two sides agreed to exchange information about terror suspects and complete development projects within 150 yards of the zero line on the common border.
