10-Truck Arms Case
Charge-framing hearing Oct 25
Babar takes his anger out on cops
A Chittagong court yesterday fixed October 25 for hearing on charge framing against all the accused in two cases relating to 10-truck arms haul in the port city in 2004.
The accused include Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, who was the then industries minister, and former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar.
On April 2, 2004, police seized 10 trucks of weapons and ammunition from the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd (CUFL) jetty in Chittagong in the biggest ever arms haul of the country.
Two cases were filed the next day with Karnaphuli Police Station against 43 people in this connection. Names of two accused were dropped after they died.
Following submission of the supplementary charge sheets earlier this year, the number of total accused stood at 52 in the case filed for smuggling the firearms and 50 in the other case filed under arms act.
Meanwhile, on his way to the prison van after yesterday's hearing, Babar started shouting that the charges against him were false.
He said the present government will not stay in office forever, and warned that everything will change.
During the nearly one-hour proceedings that started around 11:45am, the Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 rejected the bail petitions of three accused -- former director of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Maj Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, former deputy director of National Security Intelligence (NSI) Major (retd) Liaqat Hossain and Deen Mohammad -- in the cases.
Judge SM Mujibur Rahman also directed the jail authorities to decide as per jail code on a petition by Babar's lawyers to allow them to visit the former state minister in jail.
All the 11 arrested in the case, including Nizami and Babar, were produced before the court. Nine of them were made accused in the supplementary charge sheet while two others -- Deen Mohammad and Hafizur Rahman -- were in the original charge sheet.
Deen Mohammad allegedly supplied workers for unloading of the arms and ammunition.
India's Ulfa (United Liberation Front of Asom) leader Paresh Barua and former additional secretary of the industries ministry Nurul Amin are among those charged in the supplementary charge sheets.
On September 6, the court rejected the bail prayers of Nizami and two others -- former general manager (admin) of CUFL Enamul Hoque and Deen Mohammad -- in the cases and fixed October 3 for further hearing.
On the same day, the court ordered the authorities to publish an advertisement in two national dailies, asking two fugitives Paresh Barua and Nurul Amin to appear before the court within October 3.
Public Prosecutor Kamal Uddin told The Daily Star that as the advertisements were duly published, the case is now ready for trial and the court fixed date for hearing on charge framing.
ANGRY BABAR
Witnesses said as soon as Babar came out of the courtroom, police tried to keep off some of his lawyers who tried to get closer to him, making the former state minister angry.
"Iqbal, stop," Babar shouted at Sub-inspector Iqbal Hossain, who tried to bar the lawyers.
"This government is not permanent. Everything will be reversed. Curse of Allah will befall," he continued.
"All the charges against me are false."
Pointing finger at Iqbal, Babar warned, "Mind it…there should be a limit to excesses."
Some pro-BNP lawyers chanted slogans in support of Babar.
Iqbal said he tried to stop the lawyers from coming close to Babar for the sake of security.
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