After Bangladesh on Monday said that it has sent a diplomatic note to India to send back deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina to Dhaka, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that India received a Note Verbale from the Bangladesh High Commission in connection with an extradition request. However, the MEA offered no comments on this matter. Earlier, Bangladesh's de facto foreign minister or Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain said that Dhaka sent a note verbale to the Indian government saying that Bangladesh wants the former PM back for the judicial process.
Hasina, who was ousted from power earlier this year in August, has been living in exile in India. Hasina had to leave Bangladesh after protests turned violent in the country.
Notably, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) based in Dhaka has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisers, and military and civil officials for "crimes against humanity and genocide".
The diplomatic note comes following a letter sent by Home Advisor Jahangir Alam's office to the foreign ministry to facilitate the ousted premier's extradition from India.
“We have sent a letter to the foreign ministry regarding her extradition. The process is currently underway,” he told reporters in response to a query.
Alam said an extradition treaty between Dhaka and New Delhi already exists and Hasina could be brought back to Bangladesh under the treaty.
Last month, in an address to the nation on the completion of 100 days of the interim government, Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said it will seek the extradition of Hasina.
“We must ensure justice in every killing. We will also ask India to send back fallen autocrat Sheikh Hasina,” he said.
Yunus, who assumed office on August 8, claimed that about 1,500 people, including students and workers, were killed while 19,931 others were wounded during the protest against the Hasina government.
In October, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul had reportedly said that Bangladesh would strongly protest if India tried to refuse Hasina's extradition by citing any provision in the treaty.
Muhammad Yunus on Sheikh Hasina's stay in India
In an interview with PTI in Dhaka in September, Yunus had said that Hasina making political remarks from India is an “unfriendly gesture", asserting that she must remain silent to prevent discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition.
"If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," he said.
In recent weeks, Hasina has accused the Yunus-led interim government of perpetrating "genocide" and failing to protect minorities, especially Hindus, since her ouster.
(With agency inputs)
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