File photo.
Court Reporter //

BNP leader and former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar has also been acquitted of life imprisonment in the much-discussed 10-Truck Arms Act case.

A High Court bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasrin Akhter gave the verdict on Tuesday (January 14).

Deputy Attorney General Sultana Akhter Ruby and Assistant Attorney General Md. Asif Imran Zisan appeared for the state in the court. Senior lawyer SM Shahjahan and lawyer Shishir Monir appeared for the accused at the hearing.

Lawyers said there are no more obstacles to Babar’s release.

The High Court had acquitted seven accused including Babar on December 18. In addition, ULFA military commander Paresh Barua was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of death sentence.

Earlier, on November 6, the hearing on the death reference (approval of death penalty) and appeal of the accused in the case filed in Chittagong regarding the smuggling of 10 trucks of weapons began. On that day, senior lawyer SM Shahjahan was present at the hearing on behalf of some accused including former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar. Lawyer Shishir Monir heard on behalf of former State Minister for Home Affairs Babar.

On April 1, 2004, a consignment of 10 trucks of weapons was seized from CUFL Ghat. In this regard, two cases were filed at Karnaphuli Police Station, alleging smuggling under the Arms Act and the Special Powers Act. The Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court and Special Tribunal-1 delivered their verdict in the case on January 30, 2014.

Among them, in the arms smuggling case, the trial court sentenced 14 people to death, including former Industries Minister and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami (executed in another case), former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar, military commander of the Indian separatist organization ULFA Paresh Barua, and senior officers of two intelligence agencies. The same accused were sentenced to life imprisonment in another case filed under the Arms Act.

After the trial court’s verdict, the case documents including the verdict reached the Death Reference Branch of the High Court on February 6, 2014, which was registered as a death reference case. On the other hand, the convicted accused who were in prison filed separate appeals in the High Court against the sentence in 2014.

Expressed their opinions.