Anup Chetia, the general secretary of banned militant group United Liberation Front of Asom, was handed over by Bangladesh authorities to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday, Times Now reported. Chetia was in a Dhaka prison for more than 17 years, but Bangladesh has agreed to send him back after Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened, according to CNN-IBN. The Times of India reported that the Home Ministry confirmed that a CBI team is involved in the deportation and Chetia might then be given to the Assam police. Union minister Kiren Rijiju said that Chetia's return is a major breakthrough and would help crack many cases.

The ULFA leader was charged with illegally entering Bangladesh on a forged passport, holding illegal foreign currency and possessing arms in 1997. He is wanted in India for murder, extortion and abduction. He had finished his jail term but had sought political asylum in Bangladesh several times. Chetia’s deportation has been at the centre of a political tussle between the two countries, with Bangladesh at various points suggesting they would hand him over if India acquiesced to some of its demands.