GUWAHATI: The Bangladesh High Court on Wednesday, December 18, commuted the death sentence of Paresh Baruah, the military commander of the banned terror organisation United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), to life imprisonment.
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Baruah had been convicted in a high-profile arms smuggling case dating back twenty years, which involved a massive consignment of weapons seized in Chittagong.
The incident occurred on 1 April 2004, during the tenure of the Khaleda Zia-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, which was allied with the pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami. The consignment, comprising ten truckloads of arms, was reportedly intended to support anti-India militant operations.
The court ruling additionally acquitted six individuals, including Lutfuzzaman Babar, a former State Minister for Home Affairs under the BNP government. Babar had allegedly been a prominent figure during the regime and was found to have facilitated the smuggling.
While Baruah’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, six other death row convicts saw their sentences reduced to 10 years of imprisonment.
The arms smuggling case became a focal point for the Awami League government under former Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina, whose administration used to consistently crack down on anti-India forces operating from Bangladeshi soil.
