Khaleda also kept Silence herself informed DGFI chief Rumi before Court-Sumi Khan

A Chittagong court yesterday handed down the death penalty to 14 people, including ex-ministers Lutfozzaman Babar and Motiur Rahman Nizami and former top intelligence officials, for smuggling 10 truckloads of arms into Chittagong during the last BNP-led government's tenure. The verdict points to the state machinery's involvement in the smuggling of the huge cache of weapons meant for the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), a separatist group fighting for an independent Assam. Ulfa military commander Paresh Barua.

A Chittagong court yesterday 30^th January ,2014 handed down the death penalty to 14 people, including ex-ministers Lutfozzaman Babar and Motiur Rahman Nizami and former top intelligence officials, for smuggling 10 truckloads of arms into Chittagong during the last BNP-led government's tenure.
The verdict points to the state machinery's involvement in the smuggling of the huge cache of weapons meant for the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), a separatist group fighting for an independent Assam.Ulfa military commander Paresh Barua is among those condemned to death.
The 14 convicts were also given life sentences for possessing illegal firearms and ammunition in another case filed over the largest-ever arms haul in the country about a decade ago.
The court acquitted 38 other accused, mostly day labourers, from both the cases -- one filed under the Special Powers Act 1974 for smuggling of firearms and the other under the Arms Act for illegal possession of firearms.
The cases were lodged with Karnaphuli Police Station a day after the arms haul at Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd (CUFL) jetty in the early hours of April 2, 2004.
The arms and ammunition seized included 4,930 sophisticated firearms, 840 rocket launchers, 300 rockets, 27,020 grenades, 2,000 grenade-launching tubes, 6,392 magazines and 11.41 million bullets.
Judge SM Mojibur Rahman of Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 pronounced the long-awaited verdicts in a packed courtroom amid tight security.
“It is a trial court. The verdict is being pronounced on the basis of evidence and testimonies [of witnesses],” said the judge, who started reading out the summary verdicts at 12:28pm.
“We usually hand down 10 to 15 years' imprisonment in a case over recovery of one or two firearms. But the seizure of 10 truckloads of arms is not a usual case … We should not consider it similarly.
It is clearly understood that officials of two important intelligence agencies had rapport and communications with Ulfa leaders Paresh Barua and Anup Chetia. The intelligence officials confessed to it, and that has been reflected in the verdict, said the judge.
The convicts include former director of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Maj Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, ex-director general of National Security Intelligence (NSI) Brig Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim, former NSI director wing commander (retd) Shahab Uddin, former NSI deputy director Maj (retd) Liakat Hossain, ex-NSI field officer Akbar Hossain Khan, former additional secretary of industries ministry Nurul Amin, ex-CUFL managing director Mohsin Talukder, and former CUFL general manager (admin) Enamul Hoque.
Three other condemned men are Hafizur Rahman Hafiz, a local arms smuggler, Din Mohammad, who supplied workers for offloading the arms and ammunition, and Haji Abdus Sobhan, owner of one of the two trawlers that carried the weapons from the deep sea to the CUFL jetty.
Of the convicts, 12 were present in court, while Paresh Barua and Nurul Amin are on the run.
The then BNP-Jamaat government tried to cover up the involvement of the culprits in the incident that stunned the nation and raised serious concerns about the country's security.
The names of 11 of the 14 convicts were tactfully dropped from the list of suspects during the investigation in the BNP-led government's tenure.
However, in further probe after a political changeover, all of them were eventually found to have been involved in the arms smuggling.
With some loopholes in both cases, the trial began in 2005. Forty-five people were accused in the smuggling case and 42 in the arms case.
The cases took a new turn after the caretaker government took over in 2007.
The Chittagong Metropolitan Judge's Court on February 14, 2008, ordered further probe into the cases following a petition from the prosecution.
The long-delayed trial started again at the special tribunal on November 29, 2011, and 56 prosecution witnesses testified in the arms case and 53 in the smuggling case.
It took more than two years to complete the proceedings.
Senior Assistant Superintendent of the CID Muniruzzaman Chowdhury, also the fifth investigation officer of the cases, submitted two supplementary charge sheets in June 2011, accusing 11 new suspects that included ex-industries minister and Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Nizami and former state minister for home Babar. All the 11 accused were sentenced to death yesterday.
The court observed that the five people, arrested at the jetty for involvement in the arms smuggling, were released later on directives from Babar, the then ex-state minister for home. “Evidence supports it.”
The judge first pronounced the verdict in the arms case and sentenced the 14 to life imprisonment for possessing illegal firearms and another seven years for possessing illegal ammunition. Both the sentences will merge.
“Since I have given the highest punishment [life sentence] in the arms case, I have decided to award the same persons the highest punishment [death sentence] in the smuggling case, as they were found guilty on the charge of smuggling,” the judge said.
The court also fined them Tk 5 lakh each in the smuggling case.
On claims that Babar and Nizami were implicated in the cases for political reasons, the judge said none of those who gave depositions were involved in politics, as they were either government high-ups or top officials of intelligence agencies.
The prosecution expressed satisfaction at the verdict.
However, family members and counsels for the convicts termed the judgment “politically motivated”, and said they had been “deprived of justice” and would challenge the verdict in a higher court.
Under legal provisions, the convicts have the right to lodge appeals with the High Court, and will also get a chance to file appeals with the Supreme Court if the HC decision goes against them.
“Mini Cantonment can be operated with the seized weapons”- As The Court Said

“A mini cantonment can be operated with the seized weapons,” the court said.  “After examining all the depositions, confessional statements and cross examinations, the court found out that some officials of the two important government agencies – the National Security Intelligence [NSI] and the Directorate of General Forces Intelligence [DGFI] – who were accused in the cases, gave confessional statements against each other.

Not only the witnesses, but many of the accused in the two cases filed in connection with the 10 truckloads arms haul exposed each other’s roles in the smuggling. 

These observations  were of SM Mojibur Rahman, judge of the Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal 1 who delivered the verdict in the arms and smuggling cases handing down death penalty to 14 accused including some the then political and military bigwigs.

“Before delivering the verdict, the judge briefed the overcrowded courtroom about his observations. He said there was no chance that the cases could be considered ordinary arms and smuggling cases.The judge repeatedly said some of the accused had been holding important positions in some of the key agencies of the government. Some of their high ranked colleagues from the then administration gave depositions against them.

The judge also said when DGFI chief Maj Gen Sadik Hasan Rumi informed then prime minister Khaleda Zia about the matter, she  kept herself silent;did not show any reaction.

“This kind of witness deposition is important. And their statements were not like those given by common witnesses,” said the judge.

“There were both accused and witnesses from the same force,” he said.

“After examining all the depositions, confessional statements and cross examinations, the court found out that some officials of the two important government agencies – the National Security Intelligence [NSI] and the Directorate of General Forces Intelligence [DGFI] – who were accused in the cases, gave confessional statements against each other.

“... [They said] the accused had connection with the Ulfa and its leaders Anup Chetiya and Paresh Barua.”

The judge said: “The [then] director general of NSI, the most important office of the country, along with his wife, travelled to Dubai with an Ulfa leader. One of the [NSI] directors said that before the court.

“They had dealings with Paresh Barua and Anup Chetiya. “Maj Liakat [convicted accused] used to maintain contact with the leaders of the separatist group [Ulfa]. This fact was cited in the statements and depositions of their colleagues,” said the judge.

Maj Liakat also gave shelter to the criminals in the country and maintained relations with the foreign terrorists during the Operation Clean Heart. He also used to regularly inform the higher authorities about his liaison, the court observed.

He discouraged police officials as they challenged the unloading of smuggled arms at the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited (CUFL) jetty on April 2, 2004. 

He told the police officials that they had the government’s permission (for unloading illegal arms in the jetty). He said the policemen would lose their jobs if they prevented the unloading.

The judge said these observations came out from the statements given by the witnesses and the accused.

Later, the then state minister for home formed a probe committee comprising five members. One of the members of the committee was DGFI director Maj Gen (retd) Rezzaqul Haider Chowdhury, later made accused in the cases after further investigation.“It is a trial court. I did not make any decision on my own. I am delivering a verdict that was finalised after examining the confessional statements of the accused, depositions and cross-examinations of the witnesses,” the court said.

Shoeb Ahmed, the then secretary of the industries ministry, and Maj Gen (retd) Imamuzzaman, then chairman of BCIC, both gave statements against the then industries minister Moitur Rahman Nizami.The CUFL jetty of the Chittagong Port is under the industries ministry and the minister is responsible for the organisation. 

Then state minister for home Babar ordered police to release the five Ulfa men, who were held on the spot on the night of the arms haul.Later, he visited Chittagong to see the arms and ammunition. He also prohibited the then Chittagong Metropolitan Police commissioner from telling much to the media about the cases. The court also considered these facts.

Babar and Nizami claimed that they had been sued from political intentions; but the court did not find any witness, who was an activist of any political party.

The arms and ammunition seizure was not only the biggest ever in Bangladesh, it was also unprecedented in the world, the judge said.

“This kind of witness deposition is important. And their statements were not like those given by common witnesses,” said the judge.“There were both accused and witnesses from the same force,” he said. “... [They said] the accused had connection with the Ulfa and its leaders Anup Chetiya and Paresh Barua.”The judge said: “The [then] director general of NSI, the most important office of the country, along with his wife, travelled to Dubai with an Ulfa leader. One of the [NSI] directors said that before the court.“They had dealings with Paresh Barua and Anup Chetiya. “Maj Liakat [convicted accused] used to maintain contact with the leaders of the separatist group [Ulfa]. This fact was cited in the statements and depositions of their colleagues,” said the judge.Maj Liakat also gave shelter to the criminals in the country and maintained relations with the foreign terrorists during the Operation Clean Heart. He also used to regularly inform the higher authorities about his liaison, the court observed.He discouraged police officials as they challenged the unloading of smuggled arms at the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited (CUFL) jetty on April 2, 2004. 

He told the police officials that they had the government’s permission (for unloading illegal arms in the jetty). He said the policemen would lose their jobs if they prevented the unloading.

The judge said these observations came out from the statements given by the witnesses and the accused, who are not any political or opposition of these accused;all are officials ,who are directly involved with the accused to carry on their(accused) order.

The judge also said when DGFI chief Maj Gen Sadik Hasan Rumi informed then prime minister Khaleda Zia about the matter, she did not show much reaction.

Later, the then state minister for home formed a probe committee comprising five members. One of the members of the committee was DGFI director Maj Gen (retd) Rezzaqul Haider Chowdhury, later made accused in the cases after further investigation.

“It is a trial court. I did not make any decision on my own. I am delivering a verdict that was finalised after examining the confessional statements of the accused, depositions and cross-examinations of the witnesses,” the court said.

Shoeb Ahmed, the then secretary of the industries ministry, and Maj Gen (retd) Imamuzzaman, then chairman of BCIC, both gave statements against the then industries minister Moitur Rahman Nizami.

The CUFL jetty of the Chittagong Port is under the industries ministry and the minister is responsible for the organisation.

Then state minister for home Babar ordered police to release the five Ulfa men, who were held on the spot on the night of the arms haul.

Later, he visited Chittagong to see the arms and ammunition. He also prohibited the then Chittagong Metropolitan Police commissioner from telling much to the media about the cases. The court also considered these facts. 

Babar and Nizami claimed that they had been sued from political intentions; but the court did not find any witness, who was an activist of any political party.

The arms and ammunition seizure was not only the biggest ever in Bangladesh, it was also unprecedented in the world, the judge said.