The CID has asked Bangladesh to arrest and hand over a militant leader in return of the six criminals it had handed over to Dhaka.

The give-and-take proposal was placed before two senior Bangladeshi officials who recently visited the city.

“We gave them six criminals whose names figure prominently on their wanted list. Now, it’s their turn to hand over Kamtapur Liberation Organisation leader Jiban Singha,” said a CID officer.

The Bangladeshi authorities are yet to respond to the CID’s plea.

The officers from Dhaka, who were in Calcutta for a week, met CID top brass and forwarded a list of 90 more Bangla criminals allegedly hiding in or around the city.

“There is no reason why Dhaka should decline our request,” said an officer in the Bhabani Bhavan headquarters of the CID. “We are seeking one in return of six.”

An officer of CID’s Special Operations Group, which deals with “high-profile” cases, said: “We worked hard to arrest more than a dozen Bangladeshi gangsters, including Banglabhai’s associates Joy and Haris. Five more criminals are still in jail here. We will try to track down the 90 criminals only if they act on our request.”

Intelligence reports with CID suggest Singha has hideouts in Chittagong and Dhaka. “We have repeatedly shared the inputs with the Bangladeshi authorities, in vain,” said an officer.

The CID’s claim stood vindicated following the recent arrest of an alleged international antique smuggler in Dhaka. Mohammad Hossain Shiplu, picked up from Gulshanbag, reportedly told the police that he had provided shelter to Singha and met him on several occasions. “This proves our claim is not false,” pointed out a senior officer.

Abdullah Aref (special additional superintendent of Bangladesh police), who was in the two-member team, said: “We are here to find out a way that would benefit both us and the CID.”