Babar acquitted in 10-truck arms smuggling case, High Court delivers verdict

Former BNP leader and ex-State Minister for Home Affairs, Lutfuzzaman Babar, has been acquitted in the much-talked-about 10-truck arms smuggling case in Chattogram.

On Tuesday, January 14, the High Court bench, led by Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasreen Akhter, announced the verdict that cleared Babar of all charges in the case.

Alongside Babar’s acquittal, the court also cleared four other accused in the case, while five individuals received varying sentences. 

Unfortunately, four other accused in this case have already passed away.

The court, during Tuesday‍‍`s hearing, sentenced five individuals, including ULFA leader Paresh Barua, to different jail terms for their involvement in the case.

This follows Babar’s acquittal on December 18, when he was cleared of his death sentence in a separate smuggling case related to the 10-truck arms seizure.

After the trial court’s ruling, the case records were submitted to the High Court’s Death Reference Branch on February 6, 2014, where it was registered as a death reference case.

At the same time, those who were sentenced in the case filed appeals in the High Court, seeking to overturn their convictions.

Back in January 2014, Chattogram’s Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 sentenced Lutfuzzaman Babar and 14 others to death for their involvement in smuggling a massive consignment of arms and ammunition in the 10-truck arms case.

The arms were seized in 2004, and the Karnafuli police filed two cases at the time—one under the Arms Act and another under the Smuggling Act.

The 10-truck arms haul became one of the most controversial incidents during the BNP government’s tenure from 2001 to 2006, led by Khaleda Zia, causing immense political tension and embarrassment.

This remains the largest arms and ammunition seizure in Bangladesh’s history, discovered on the night of April 1, 2004.