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Hurdles were aplenty

It took 5th investigation officer, further probe, 10 years for truth to come out

Wasim Bin Habib, Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary and Dwai payan Barua
The probe and trial in the sensational 10-truck arms haul cases saw ups and downs in the last 10 years, with the big shots being left out in the initial investigation, raising eyebrows of many.
Only the small fry were implicated during the initial probe as the erstwhile BNP-led four-party alliance government allegedly tried to cover up the involvement of state machinery - ministers and top officials of intelligence agencies - in the biggest ever arms haul of the country's history.
Several investigations into the incident had been carried out since the recovery of the arms cache in the wee hours of April 2, 2004, but most of those were unsatisfactory and could not identify the masterminds behind the smuggling operation.
Two cases - one under the arms act for illegal possession of firearms and the other under the Special Powers Act, 1974 for smuggling weapons - were filed with Karnaphuli Police Station a day after the arms were hauled at the jetty of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited (CUFL).
The arms consignment, smuggled in on two fishing trawlers, were meant for the Assamese separatist group United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa).
A h a d u r Rahman, officer - in - charge of Karnaphuli Police Station and complainant of the cases, had begun probing the cases in April 2004. But he was relieved following controversies and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took over the probe on April 26.
On June 11 that year, CID ASP Kabir Uddin pressed charges against 39 persons, including prime accused Hafizur Rahman and labour supplier Deen Mohammad, in the arms case.
But the court ordered further investigation into the case. Upon appointment, the new investigation officer (IO) and CID ASP Mir Nawsher Ali started probe on July 22.
Nawsher on August 25 submitted a supplementary charge sheet in the arms case, accusing 40 people, including the previously charge sheeted 39. On November 9 that year, he submitted charge sheet in the smuggling case accusing 43 people.
The trial in the two cases opened in 2005 overlooking some important factors like who had brought the arms, the source and destination of the consignment and how the CUFL jetty was used for unloading the consignment.
But during the military-backed caretaker regime, Chittagong Metropolitan Judge's Court on February 14, 2008 had ordered further investigation into the cases following a petition by the prosecution. The court also directed the authorities to conduct probe into seven specific areas.
M u n i r u z z a m a n Chowdhury, senior assistant superintendent of the CID, began investigation on February 4, 2009 as the fifth IO.
He came up with startling revelations and submitted two supplementary charge sheets to the court on June 26, 2011 accusing 11 new suspects, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Ra h m a n Nizami, also former industries minister, in both the cases.
The names of Hl fa leader Paresh Barua, former director general of National Security Intelligence (NSI) Brig Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim, exdirector of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Maj Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, who was later appointed as the DG of the NSI, were also included in both the charge sheets.
The other accused were former NSI director wing commander (retd) Shahab Uddin, ex-NSI deputy director Maj (retd) Liakat Hossain, ex-NSI field officer Akbar Hossain Khan, former additional secretary of industries ministry Nurul Amin, ex-managing director of the CLI FL Mohsi n Talukderand former CUFL general manager (admin) Enamul Hoque.
All 11 new suspects, except for Ulfa leader Paresh, and ex-additional secretary Nurul Amin, are now behind bars. With the 11, the number of total accused rose to 50 in the arms case and 52 in the smuggling case.
The long-delayed trial in the cases finally resumed in Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 on November 29,2011.
On January 13 this year, tribunal Judge SM Mojibur Rahman set yesterday for delivering the verdict in the