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Paresh Barua, military head of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and one of India’s most wanted militants, and two former ministers and as many army generals were among 14 people sentenced to death by a Bangladeshi court on Thursday, for the country's biggest weapons haul, nearly 10 years after the seizure.
Barua, currently a fugitive whose whereabouts are unknown, was given the death sentence in absentia in the sensational case, of the seizure of 10 trucks containing 4,000 weapons and over 11 million bullets in April 2004. Jamaat-e-Islami chief and former minister Matiur Rahman Nizami and ex-junior minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar in the then Bangladesh Nationalist Party - led government were also sentenced to death by the court.
“The Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 has handed down death penalty to 14,” private Samoy TV said soon after Judge SM Mojibur Rahman delivered the verdict in a crowded courtroom amid tight security in the southeastern port city.
Barua now leads a faction of the group opposed to talks with the Indian government. ULFA for long has had bases and business interests in the Chittagong area.
Two of the convicts, Barua and former additional secretary Nurul Amin, were tried in absentia.
Two former generals also given the death penalty are then DG of the apex National Security Intelligence (NSI), Brig Gen Abdur Rahim, and former Directorate General of Forces Intelligence director, Maj Gen Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, who later became the NSI chief. All the accused were tried under the Arms Act for illegal possession of firearms and the Special Powers Act of 1974 for weapon smuggling.
The verdict came nearly a decade after the seizure of the weapons destined for ULFA hideouts in northeastern India through Bangladesh territory. Around 1,500 boxes containing submachine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, submachine carbines, Chinese pistols, 840 rocket launchers, 27,000 grenades and 11.41 million bullets were seized from 10 trucks in the early hours of April 2, 2004. Local media reported the weapons were smuggled from Hong Kong via Singapore.
Bangladesh court gives ULFA chief death sentence | Business Standard
ISI had role in Bangladesh arms smuggling case: Report
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was among various local and foreign intelligence agencies that played a role in the 2004 arms smuggling case in Bangladesh for which 14 people were awarded the death sentence by a court Thursday.
A further probe into the incident revealed the involvement of some top politicians of the then Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party alliance government, bureaucrats, ISI and Indian separatist outfit ULFA, the Daily Star reported.
A special court in Chittagong handed down the death sentence to Paresh Barua, who heads an ULFA faction opposed to any peace talks, and 13 others, including Jamaat chief and then industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami and then state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, for smuggling in 10 truckloads of firearms in 2004.
A huge cache of arms was recovered April 2, 2004, at the jetty of the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd. (CUFL) near the Karnaphuli river while being loaded on 10 trucks for delivery to the Indian separatist outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).
These included 4,930 sophisticated firearms of different types, 840 rocket launchers, 300 rockets, 27,020 grenades, 2,000 grenade-launching tubes, 6,392 magazines and 11.41 million bullets.
It was the largest ever seizure of an arms consignment in the Bangladesh.
According to the Daily Star, a further probe carried out by investigation officer Moniruzzaman Chowdhury into the two cases - one on arms dealing and one on smuggling - found that several meetings were held at home and abroad before the April 2, 2004, operation.
Some of the accused in the two cases disclosed this during interrogation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and their confessional statements in court, Chowdhury was quoted as saying.
Former National Security Intelligence (NSI) director Shahab Uddin, who is now in jail, alleged that former NSI director Abdur Rahim had held several meetings with officials of Pakistan's ARY Group and the ISI at home and abroad.
During interrogation at the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) cell in Dhaka in early May in 2009, Shahab Uddin had spoken about the arms smuggling plan.
However, in a confessional statement May 15 that same year, he tactfully avoided many facts. In the statement he did not mention the name of the ISI or any of its officials. Rather, he only referred to meetings with "foreigners".
Rahim in his statement May 27, 2009, mentioned the names of the ARY and ISI and spoke about holding meetings with the officials of the two organisations.
He also said that he had met then ISI director general Ehsanul Hoque in London but he did not in those meetings give any hint about planning the arms smuggling. Instead, he alleged that Shahab held a meeting with ISI officials to facilitate the arms smuggling.
The interrogation of both Shahab and Rahim revealed that the NSI had managed to procure a mobile monitoring system from the ISI.
According to the report, Rahim also alleged that in March 2004, Shahab tried to talk with him about ULFA leader Anup Chetia, who is now lodged in a Bangladesh jail.
Seeing that Rahim was indifferent to this, Shahab said that they should help the ULFA, to which the former reacted by asking: "Shall we hand over Bangladesh to the ULFA?"
In his statement, Shahab said that he met one Pakistani national named Amirbhai at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka March 30, 2004, evening and Amirbhai told him that he had met the NSI director general.
Shahab later found that Amirbhai was actually ULFA leader Paresh Barua. He said while seeing off Amir, he could see from his cabin Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, former Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) director, standing near the staircase.
According to Moniruzzaman, though Shahb and Rahim traded many counter-charges, their statements made many things clear, which helped him probe the cases.
ISI had role in Bangladesh arms smuggling case: Report | Business Standard
Barua, currently a fugitive whose whereabouts are unknown, was given the death sentence in absentia in the sensational case, of the seizure of 10 trucks containing 4,000 weapons and over 11 million bullets in April 2004. Jamaat-e-Islami chief and former minister Matiur Rahman Nizami and ex-junior minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar in the then Bangladesh Nationalist Party - led government were also sentenced to death by the court.
“The Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 has handed down death penalty to 14,” private Samoy TV said soon after Judge SM Mojibur Rahman delivered the verdict in a crowded courtroom amid tight security in the southeastern port city.
Barua now leads a faction of the group opposed to talks with the Indian government. ULFA for long has had bases and business interests in the Chittagong area.
Two of the convicts, Barua and former additional secretary Nurul Amin, were tried in absentia.
Two former generals also given the death penalty are then DG of the apex National Security Intelligence (NSI), Brig Gen Abdur Rahim, and former Directorate General of Forces Intelligence director, Maj Gen Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, who later became the NSI chief. All the accused were tried under the Arms Act for illegal possession of firearms and the Special Powers Act of 1974 for weapon smuggling.
The verdict came nearly a decade after the seizure of the weapons destined for ULFA hideouts in northeastern India through Bangladesh territory. Around 1,500 boxes containing submachine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, submachine carbines, Chinese pistols, 840 rocket launchers, 27,000 grenades and 11.41 million bullets were seized from 10 trucks in the early hours of April 2, 2004. Local media reported the weapons were smuggled from Hong Kong via Singapore.
Bangladesh court gives ULFA chief death sentence | Business Standard
ISI had role in Bangladesh arms smuggling case: Report
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was among various local and foreign intelligence agencies that played a role in the 2004 arms smuggling case in Bangladesh for which 14 people were awarded the death sentence by a court Thursday.
A further probe into the incident revealed the involvement of some top politicians of the then Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party alliance government, bureaucrats, ISI and Indian separatist outfit ULFA, the Daily Star reported.
A special court in Chittagong handed down the death sentence to Paresh Barua, who heads an ULFA faction opposed to any peace talks, and 13 others, including Jamaat chief and then industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami and then state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, for smuggling in 10 truckloads of firearms in 2004.
A huge cache of arms was recovered April 2, 2004, at the jetty of the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd. (CUFL) near the Karnaphuli river while being loaded on 10 trucks for delivery to the Indian separatist outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).
These included 4,930 sophisticated firearms of different types, 840 rocket launchers, 300 rockets, 27,020 grenades, 2,000 grenade-launching tubes, 6,392 magazines and 11.41 million bullets.
It was the largest ever seizure of an arms consignment in the Bangladesh.
According to the Daily Star, a further probe carried out by investigation officer Moniruzzaman Chowdhury into the two cases - one on arms dealing and one on smuggling - found that several meetings were held at home and abroad before the April 2, 2004, operation.
Some of the accused in the two cases disclosed this during interrogation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and their confessional statements in court, Chowdhury was quoted as saying.
Former National Security Intelligence (NSI) director Shahab Uddin, who is now in jail, alleged that former NSI director Abdur Rahim had held several meetings with officials of Pakistan's ARY Group and the ISI at home and abroad.
During interrogation at the Taskforce for Interrogation (TFI) cell in Dhaka in early May in 2009, Shahab Uddin had spoken about the arms smuggling plan.
However, in a confessional statement May 15 that same year, he tactfully avoided many facts. In the statement he did not mention the name of the ISI or any of its officials. Rather, he only referred to meetings with "foreigners".
Rahim in his statement May 27, 2009, mentioned the names of the ARY and ISI and spoke about holding meetings with the officials of the two organisations.
He also said that he had met then ISI director general Ehsanul Hoque in London but he did not in those meetings give any hint about planning the arms smuggling. Instead, he alleged that Shahab held a meeting with ISI officials to facilitate the arms smuggling.
The interrogation of both Shahab and Rahim revealed that the NSI had managed to procure a mobile monitoring system from the ISI.
According to the report, Rahim also alleged that in March 2004, Shahab tried to talk with him about ULFA leader Anup Chetia, who is now lodged in a Bangladesh jail.
Seeing that Rahim was indifferent to this, Shahab said that they should help the ULFA, to which the former reacted by asking: "Shall we hand over Bangladesh to the ULFA?"
In his statement, Shahab said that he met one Pakistani national named Amirbhai at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka March 30, 2004, evening and Amirbhai told him that he had met the NSI director general.
Shahab later found that Amirbhai was actually ULFA leader Paresh Barua. He said while seeing off Amir, he could see from his cabin Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, former Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) director, standing near the staircase.
According to Moniruzzaman, though Shahb and Rahim traded many counter-charges, their statements made many things clear, which helped him probe the cases.
ISI had role in Bangladesh arms smuggling case: Report | Business Standard
anyway i am happy with it because these are not threat for India, but also for Bangladesh. When those weapons were seized, those had not even used by BD army that time
