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The High Court on Wednesday acquitted former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and five others and commuted the death sentence of United Liberation Front of Asom leader Paresh Barua to life-term imprisonment in one of two cases filed for 2004 Chattogram 10-truck arms haul. 

The bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasreen Akter also reduced the death sentences of six other convicts to imprisonment for 10 years. 

The bench acquitted former Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former Industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami, who was executed earlier on war crimes charges.

It uphold the conviction of former National Security Intelligence director general and retired brigadier general Md Abdur Rahim, but fined him Tk 10,000 instead of the trial court’s fine of Tk 5 lakh, as he died in custody in 2021. 

On January 30, 2014, the Chattogram Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 sentenced all 14 accused to death under the Special Powers Act 1974 on charge of smuggling 10 truckloads of weapons. 

The High Court pronounced the verdict after reviewing the death references and hearing appeals filed by detained convicts.

Deputy attorney general Sultana Akter Rubi, who assisted the High Court in the case, stated that the death penalty should only be imposed on those against whom clear evidence of arms smuggling was found.

Speaking to ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·, she said, ‘We will decide whether to file an appeal after scrutinizing the written verdict.’

Besides Babar and Nizzami, the rest four acquitted people are former director general of the NSI and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence retired major general Rezzaqul Haider Chowdhury, former additional secretary to the industries ministry Md Nurul Amin, former Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited managing director Mohsin Uddin Talukder and its former general manager KM Enamul Haque.

Nurul Amin is still in hiding. 

The six convicts whose death sentences were commuted  to 10-year imprisonment are then major and former NSI deputy director Liaquat Hossain, former NSI field officer Akbar Hossain Khan, retired wing commander Shahabuddin Ahmad, and Chattogram residents Hafizur Rahman Hafiz, Din Mohammad and Haji Md Abdus Sobhan.

The High Court also reduced their fines to Tk 10,000 each from Tk 5 lakh.

Babar was implicated in the case for appointing Rezzaqul Haider, an individual allegedly connected to the arms haul, to the five-member administrative probe committee formed to investigate the incident.

Babar reportedly justified the decision as being in the ‘national interest.’

The court found the allegations against Lutfozzaman Babar unproven, citing inconsistencies in witness statements.

Testimony from retired brigadier general Hasan Mahmud, the 52nd prosecution witness, confirmed that Barua had imported the arms and explosives from China.

The court noted that Paresh Barua, the condemned accused, had been absconding since the trial began. Citing the evidence on record, prevailing circumstances, and apex court precedents, the court concluded that commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment would serve the interests of justice, the court observed.

Case records indicated that Paresh Barua allegedly met then NSI director general Rezzaqul Haider at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka.

The charges against Rezzaqul Haider were dismissed by the High Court due to the absence of testimony from Combined Military Hospital officials and a lack of supporting documentation.

‘The purpose of a trial is twofold: to ensure the conviction of the guilty while safeguarding the innocent. In this process, courts must act as guardians of the truth, reaching conclusions grounded in the facts and circumstances of each case,’ the court observed.

The High Court decision to acquit six convicts and commute the sentences of six others was attributed to significant failure of the prosecution, flaws in investigations, the last of which was conducted by Criminal Investigation Department superintendent Moniruzzaman, said Shishir Manir, lawyer for Babar and Nizami, citing the verdict.

Despite the High Court verdict in the smuggling case, all 14 accused, including Babar and the six convicts whose sentences were commuted, would remain in custody, as they were also sentenced to life imprisonment in the arms case for the same incident.

The arms case remains pending before the same High Court bench, according to Shishir Manir. 

The investigation and trial of the 2004 Chattogram arms haul cases have undergone several developments spanning successive governments. 

The initial charge sheet, submitted on November 9, 2004, during the BNP-Jamaat alliance government, accused 45 individuals.

On February 14, 2008, during the military-backed interim government, the trial court ordered further investigation after the recording of testimony of 28 prosecution witnesses.

On June 23, 2011, during the Awami League government, a second charge sheet was submitted, naming 52 accused, including 11 new individuals. The new accused included Paresh Barua, Babar, Nizami, senior NSI officials and CUFL officials.

All 14 individuals were sentenced to death for smuggling and life imprisonment for arms possession.

The appellants, represented by Shishir Manir alongside senior counsels SM Shajahan and Mohammad Ahasan, argued that the second charge sheet was unlawful as it was filed midway through the trial.

They contended that it was based on the second confession of retired wing commander Shahabuddin Ahmad and Hafizur Rahman Hafiz, undermining the validity of the process.

The police and coast guards seized 10 truckloads of weapons and ammunition being loaded from two-engine boats at the jetty of CUFL facility Chattogram harbor.

The haul included 4,930 sophisticated firearms, 27,020 grenades, 840 rocket launchers, 300 rockets, 2,000 grenade-launching tubes,6,392 magazines and 1,140,520 bullets.

The sophisticated weaponry was reportedly intended for ULFA, a militant group fighting for the independence of Assam from India. 

The incident prompted Ahadur Rahman, then officer-in-charge of Karnaphuli Police Station, to file a case on April 3, 2004, a day after the seizure. He was initially appointed the investigation officer. However, 22 days later, the case was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department, and assistant superintendent of police AKM Kabir Uddin was assigned as the new investigation officer.

On June 11, 2004, Kabir Uddin submitted the first charge sheet. Arms smuggling charges were brought against 45 individuals under the Special Powers Act 1974, while arms-related charges were filed against 43 individuals under the Arms Act 1878.