Bangladesh HC Commutes Paresh Baruah’s Death Sentence to Life

Guwahati, Dec 19: The Bangladesh High Court on Wednesday reduced the death sentence of ULFA leader Paresh Baruah to life imprisonment in the 2004 Chattogram arms smuggling case. The court also acquitted former junior minister for home Lutfuzzaman Babar and five others previously sentenced to death in connection with the case.

Baruah, a fugitive believed to be living in China, was convicted in absentia in 2014. He remains on India's National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) 'most wanted' list. The case stemmed from the seizure of ten truckloads of weapons in April 2004, reportedly intended for the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) hideouts in Northeast India. The consignment included 27,000 grenades, 150 rocket launchers, 1,100 submachine guns, and over 11 million bullets.

The court overturned the capital punishments of key accused, including former director general of forces intelligence Major General (Retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, former CUFL plant managing director Mohsin Talukder, its general manager Enamul Hoque, and additional industries ministry secretary Nurul Amin.

The original investigation faced delays, allegedly due to political interference by the BNP-Jamaat alliance government. The case was revived during the 2008 military-backed interim regime, leading to fresh charges. Investigators found the weapons were supplied by Chinese firm NORINCO but could not identify the ship used for smuggling.

In 2014, a special tribunal handed down the death penalty to 14 individuals, including Baruah, Babar, and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Motiur Rahman Nizami, who was later executed for war crimes unrelated to the case. While the trial revealed high-level collusion, it took nearly a decade for justice to progress due to political obstructions.