Dhaka, Nov. 25 -- "On a deserted road, a hilly road, I was put down on a footpath and told 'You are free now'.

"At that moment, I saw a vast field beside me. Later I learned it was called the Shillong Golf Link.

"Some people were out for their morning walk. I introduced myself. They called police, who then took me to the station."

This is how Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of the BNP's National Standing Committee, recounted being taken into custody by the Indian police after being freed from two months of detention in Bangladesh.

Recalling the ordeal, the former government official turned politician said: "After that, perhaps from hearing my words, they might have thought I was mad.

"Then they took me to a mental hospital. There, I gave ...