PK Halder arrested in India on basis of ACC info: Foreign secy

Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen

Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen has said that PK Halder was arrested in West Bengal, India on the basis of specific information from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

He was speaking to newspersons Tuesday afternoon after a courtesy call of the Indian high commissioner Vikram Doraiswami.

He said he had discussed the matter of PK Halder with the Indian high commissioner. India has given assurance of all cooperation in this regard.

PK Halder handover may take time, hints Indian high commissioner

Meanwhile, speaking to the media after his meeting on Tuesday afternoon with foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen, Indian high commissioner Vikram Doraiswami hinted that it may take time to hand over PK Halder to Bangladesh. Legal procedures will be followed.

The Indian high commissioner and foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen had discussed preparations for the foreign minister level Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting between Bangladesh and India. The JCC meeting will be held on 30 May in Delhi.

High commissioner Doraiswami said that the issue of PK Halder had been discussed during his meeting with the foreign secretary. This is part of the normal cooperation between the two governments.

"We have all the requisite cooperation to deal with criminal elements of both the countries including legal assistance," he added.

The Bangladesh government had provided the concerned Indian agency with information. The Indian agency took steps after verifying the information. Legal process will be followed. There is cooperation between India and Bangladesh against organised crime.

India high commissioner Vikram Doraiswami

This is not an exchange of Christmas cards

When asked if Bangladesh had requested for PK Halder to be extradited, the Indian high commissioner replied that this is a matter of legal process. He was arrested last week over the weekend. There will be a response from our side at a point of time based on the information provided.

Doraiswami said, "These things take time. This is not like exchanging Christmas cards. These are things that are done through a legal process. And this must be done gradually. We are working with Bangladesh on this. The information was provided by Bangladesh."