Tight security arrangement in Chittagong.
10-TRUCK ARMS HAUL
Verdict in shortly
Star file photo
Star Online Report
A Chittagong court is set to deliver the verdict in the sensational 10-truck arms haul cases at 11:00am today amid tight security, ending a long wait since the seizure of the country's largest-ever arms consignments about a decade ago.
The Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 will decide the fate of the 52 accused, including bigwigs like former ministers Motiur Rahman Nizami and Lutfozzaman Babar.
The verdict is expected to remove the suspense created over the long-drawn trial proceedings.
The prosecution have claimed to have proved the charges and sought the highest punishment of the accused, while the defence have sought the acquittal of their clients, saying the state lawyers had “failed” to prove the charges.
Meanwhile, four accused were taken to Chittagong Central Jail from Dhaka and Kashimpur jails.
Sagir Mia, senior jail super of Chittagong Central Jail, told The Daily Star Babar and Nizami had reached Chittagong from Kashimpur jail at 7:00pm yesterday.
Brig Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim and Maj Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury arrived in Chittagong Central Jail from Dhaka Central Jail on Tuesday night, he said.
"The accused will be produced before the court in due time," he added.
Ahead of the verdict, security has been beefed up in the port city, especially in and around the court building, which is roughly 10 kilometres away from the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited (CUFL) jetty on the Karnaphuli river where the seizure was made in the early hours of April 2, 2004.
People across the country woke up in the morning to be stunned by the recovery of such a huge cache of arms and ammunition.
The weapons 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.
The consignments were reportedly meant for the Indian separatist organisation United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa). The discovery raised questions over the security of the country as well as the role of the security forces.
Two cases -- one under the Arms Act for illegal possession of firearms and the other under the Special Powers Act, 1974 for smuggling firearms -- were filed with Karnaphuli police the next day, but it took 10 years to end of trial as both the investigation and trial witnessed many ups and downs.
In an unusual instance, the first charge-sheet was submitted in the arms case by hastily wrapping up the investigation in two months, while the charge-sheet in the smuggling case was submitted in four months.
The trial of both the cases started in 2005 with several loopholes as the probes overlooked some important factors such as who had brought the arms, from which country, what was the destination and how was a jetty of a state-owned body used for unloading the weapons.
Besides, only small fry, mostly labourers, truckers and trawler drivers were implicated, leaving out the big shots as the then BNP-led government allegedly tried to cover up the involvement of the state machinery, including its ministers and high officials of intelligence agencies.
However, after the 1/11 changeover in 2007, the Court of Chittagong Metropolitan Judge on February 14, 2008 ordered further investigation following a prosecution petition and the cases took a new turn.
Muniruzzaman Chowdhury, senior assistant superintendent of Criminal Investigation Department and the fifth investigation officer of the cases, submitted two supplementary charge-sheets in June 2011, accusing 11 new suspects including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and Jamaat-e-Islami chief and former industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami.
Ulfa leader Paresh Barua, former director general of National Security Intelligence (NSI) Brig Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim, the then director of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Maj Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, who was later appointed as the DG of NSI, were also charged in both the cases.
The rest new suspects were former NSI director wing commander (retd) Shahab Uddin, ex-NSI deputy director Maj (retd) Liakat Hossain, ex-NSI field officer Akbar Hossain Khan, former additional secretary of industries ministry Nurul Amin, ex-managing director of CUFL Mohsin Talukder and former CUFL general manager (admin) Enamul Hoque.
All 11 new suspects, except Ulfa leader Paresh and Nurul Amin are now behind bars. With their inclusion the number of the total accused rose to 50 and 52 in the arms and smuggling cases respectively. Of them, 12 in the arms case and 13 in the smuggling case have been absconding.
The long-delayed trial finally began at the Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 on November 29, 2011 and 56 prosecution witnesses testified in the arms case and 53 in the smuggling case.
After proceedings lasting over 35 long months, Judge SM Mojibur Rahman of the tribunal on January 13 set the date of verdict in the cases.
If convicted, an accused may get death sentence in the smuggling case and life sentence in the arms case as the highest punishment.
SECURITY MEASURES
Security has been stepped up on the court premises since Monday with 24-hour police surveillance in front of Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal Judge SM Mojibur Rahman's office, the courtroom, in front of the prosecution lawyer and public prosecutor Kamal Uddin Ahmed's office and at the entry of the court building.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Prosecution) Muhammad Rezaul Masud told The Daily Star yesterday more than 200 policemen would be deployed at the court building and its surrounding areas, while several police check-posts would be set up on the way between Chittagong central jail and the court building.
Members of the Detective Branch, Armed Police Battalion and Rapid Action Battalion would be on hand, he added.
Published: 10:33 am Thursday, January 30, 2014
10-TRUCK ARMS HAUL | Verdict in shortly
ISI in thick of things
Finds further investigation
Dwaipayan Barua, Ctg
Though earlier probes into the 10-truck arms haul cases found only some local smugglers and ordinary labourers involved in the smuggling of arms, further investigations in 2009 revealed that local and foreign intelligence agencies and an Indian separatist group had executed the smuggling plan.
The names of some top politicians of the then BNP-led four-party alliance government, bureaucrats, Pakistani intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and Indian separatist group United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) came up during further probe into the cases.
Several meetings were held at home and abroad before April 2, 2004, when a huge cache of arms and ammunition was seized at the jetty of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd (CUFL).
Some accused in the two cases disclosed this during interrogation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and making confessional statements in court, said Moniruzzaman Chowdhury, the latest investigation officer (IO) of the cases.
Former National Security Intelligence (NSI) director wing commander Shahab Uddin, who is now behind bars, alleged that former NSI director general Brig Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim had held several meetings with officials of ARY Group and the ISI at home and abroad.
Though Shahab Uddin during interrogation at the TFI cell in Dhaka in early May in 2009 had spoken about the arms smuggling plan, in a confessional statement on May 15 that 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 on May 27 in 2009 had mentioned the names of the ARY and ISI and spoken about holding meetings with the officials of the two organisations. He even admitted that he met ISI director general Lt Gen Ehsanul Hoque in London. But he did not give any hint about planning the smuggling in those meetings. Rather, he alleged that Shahab held a meeting with ISI officials to facilitate the arms smuggling.
ISI, ULFA LINKS
Shahab in his statement stated that the ISI had provided mobile monitoring equipment to the NSI as a gift. NSI DG Rahim had been to London to meet ISI officials to discuss the handing over of the device.
In February 2004, the DG had given a briefcase to Shahab and told him to have it reach his residence. In it was the mobile monitoring equipment, mentioned Shahab.
The DG earlier had received dollars from foreigners in such a briefcase, he added.
On March 27 or 28, DG Rahim called some NSI directors, including Shahab, Didar and Enam. The DG told them that consignments for different embassies would arrive at different times and they needed to monitor it.
According to Shahab, Rahim called him on March 30 and told him that some goods would be transported from Anwara to Haluaghat and it would be better if someone from the NSI accompanied it.
On the other hand, Rahim in his statement complained that Shahab had developed close relations with ISI officials Brig Sapir Uddin and Col Shahed Mahmud, who had been serving at the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka.
The NSI had a fund of Tk2.50 crore for procuring mobile monitoring equipment in 2002. Shahab suggested purchasing the device from the ISI and talked to its officials in July 2002, claimed Rahim.
In early 2003, the ISI handed over the device to the NSI and Rahim went to London to discuss the payment with ISI DG Lt Gen Ehsanul Hoque. At the meeting the ISI chief told Rahim that the device was a gift for the NSI from Pakistan.
Rahim further alleged that in March 2004, Shahab tried to talk with him about ULFA leader Anup Chetia. As Rahim was indifferent to Shahab, he dropped the issue and told Rahim that they should help the ULFA. Infuriated at this proposal, Rahim questioned, “Shall we hand over Bangladesh to the ULFA?”
Shahab in his statement said one Pakistani national named Amir bhai, who was later known to him as ULFA leader Paresh Barua, met him at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka at 7:00pm on March 30, 2004. Amir told Shahab that he had a meeting with the NSI DG.
While seeing off Amir, Shahab could see from his cabin former DGFI director Brig Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury standing near the staircase.
IO Moniruzzaman said though the two tried to accuse each other, many things became clear from their statements and it helped him in probing the cases.
Published: 12:01 am Thursday, January 30, 2014
ISI in thick of things | Finds further investigation
