Nov. 6: Police sources tonight said two senior Ulfa leaders had been “pushed” into India from Bangladesh, a bilateral breakthrough that skirts the absence of an extradition treaty and stands out in sharp contrast with the attitude of Pakistan towards fugitive extremists.

The police sources in Agartala said Ulfa “finance secretary” Chitrabon Hazarika and “foreign secretary” Sasha Choudhury, who the banned outfit said had been picked up from their Dhaka home, were “pushed into” India on Wednesday through the Tripura section of the Indo-Bangla border.

The sources said this was the first time militants belonging to any Indian insurgent outfit had been sent back by Bangladesh where they have allegedly found a haven for over two decades now.

Dhaka’s effort is being seen as “a gesture of goodwill” ahead of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s scheduled visit to India next month.

The sources said the border thrust was the only way to send back the two Ulfa leaders as the neighbouring countries did not have an extradition treaty. They cited the instance of Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia who was arrested in Dhaka in 1997 but could not be deported to India in the absence of a treaty.

After the pushback, the two leaders were kept in the Gokul Nagar BSF camp, 20km south of Agartala town. “The duo were later taken out of Agartala under security cover today,” a source said, without naming the destination.

The two — said to be part of the Ulfa “think tank” — are wanted in Assam on charges of sedition. Assam government sources said arrangements were being made to take the two to the state.

Officially, however, both India and Bangladesh are keeping silent, given the delicate nature of the issue. Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said he had no “confirmed” information on the whereabouts of the Ulfa leaders.

In an email, Ulfa had pleaded with the Bangladesh government to prevent the two leaders’ handover. Chitrabon is the husband of jailed Ulfa central publicity secretary Pranati Deka. Both he and Sasha are in their late forties.