Staff Reporter:
The High Court yesterday acquitted seven persons including former state minister for home Lutfuzzaman Babor who were sentenced to death in the 10 trucks arms hauling case in Chatto-gram.
The High Court bench comprising Justice Mostafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasrin Akhter gave the verdict yesterday after hearing on death reference and appeals petitions of the convicted per-sons.
The court also reduced the death penalty of United Liberation Front of Asam (ULFA) leader Poresh Barua to life-term imprisonment while commuted the punishment of six other accused from the death penalty to 10-year imprisonment.
The acquitted persons are- former Director Generals (DG) of NSI Major General Rezzaqul Haider Chowdhury (retd) and Brigadier General (retd) Abdur Rahim (retd), former Managing Director of state owned Chattogram Urea Fertilizer Limited (CUFL) Mohsin Talukder, former General Manag-er of CUFL AKM Enamul Haque, former Amir of Jamat-e-Islami Maulna Matiur Rahman Nizami and former acting Industries Secretary Nurul Amin.
Jamat Amir Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami was executed in May, 2016 for crimes against hu-manity committed during the Liberation War in 1971 and former NSI DG Abdur Rahim died of Covid on August 15, 2021.
Whose convictions were reduced are- Akbar Hossain, Liaqut, Shahabuddin, Hafiz, Moinuddin and Haji Abdus Sobhan.
Deputy Attorney General Sultana Akhter Rubi and Assistant Attorney General Md Asif Imran Jisan moved for the state while senior lawyer S M Shahjahan moved for five convicts. Advocate Shishier Manir moved for Lutfuzzaman Babor.
The Special Tribunal-1 of Chattogram on January 30 in 2014 awarded death penalty to 14 accused of the case including Matiur Rahman Nizami, Lutfuzzaman Babor and ULFA leader Poresh Barua in the 10-truck arms hauling case.
