Babar and five others acquitted in the 10-truck arms smuggling case

The High Court today acquitted former state minister for home affairs, Lutfozzaman Babar, along with five others who had been sentenced to death in the 10-truck arms haul case in Chattogram. The others acquitted include former DGFI director Maj Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, ex-CUFL managing director Mohsin Talukder, former CUFL general manager (admin) Enamul Hoque, former additional secretary of the industries ministry Nurul Amin, and Jamaat leader Motiur Rahman Nizami. Nizami was executed in May 2016 for crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War of 1971.  

Additionally, the court commuted the death sentence of Ulfa military commander Paresh Barua to life imprisonment. The verdict was delivered by a two-member High Court bench led by Justice Mostafa Zaman Islam.  

On December 11, Babar had sought acquittal in the case. His lawyer, Advocate Shishir Manir, argued that Babar was falsely implicated for political reasons and that the prosecution failed to present credible evidence or reliable witnesses to support the charges against him.  

The hearing of the death reference and appeals in the case began on November 6, with the High Court reviewing the judgment passed by the lower court. In cases involving a death sentence, the High Court examines the lower court’s decision through a process known as a death reference.  

On January 30, 2014, Chattogram Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 sentenced 14 individuals, including Motiur Rahman Nizami and Lutfozzaman Babar, to death for smuggling 10 truckloads of firearms.