A Chittagong court yesterday granted bail to a chargesheeted accused and released a truck in the April 2 Arms Haul Case, while a smuggling racketeer was sent to Dhaka for interrogation about his suspected links to the same cache.

Acting Judge of Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court Mohammad Shahjahan allowed bail to Marium Begum popularly known as Bodhini Begum, member of Bairag Union Parishad in Karnaphuli, on a bond ofTK 10,000.

The court also released the truck, seized about a month after law enforcers busted 10 truckloads of arms and ammunition on Karnaphuli coast.

The court did not hear the supplementary chargesheet submitted on August 26 and the acting judge observed any decision on acceptance or rejection of the chargesheet in the absence of the judge may create legal tangles.

The court scheduled the hearing on the chargesheet for October 10 when the new judge will take office left vacant by the recent transfer of Judge Fazlul Karim.

Bail prayers were submitted for eight of the 43 accused and the court sanctioned the bail prayer for Morium and left the rest for an interim hearing, the date of which will be fixed later.

The first chargesheet on the arms case was submitted on June 11 showing 39 people as accused with a prayer for exclusion of three, but the court rejected the prayer for exclusion and ordered inclusion of another person, raising the number of the accused to 43 in the supplementary chargesheet.

SUSPECTED LINKS

Arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on his arrival from Singapore, Shafiqur Rahman was handed to Khulsi police before he was sent to Dhaka last night for

quizzing at the joint interrogation cell.

Rab seized foreign banknotes and 11 passports from Shafiqur, also believed to have links to the murder of ship breaker Jakir, police said.

Rab said he has roles in international smuggling and illegal money transfer, besides his suspected links to the biggest arms haul.