Indian gets 10yrs RI in arms case

Another on remand

27 August 2009, 17:00 PM

Star National Desk

A Sherpur court on Wednesday sentenced an Indian citizen to 10 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) in an arms case. In Jhalakathi, an Indian detained on Tuesday for trespassing was placed on remand for three days on Wednesday. Judge SM Badrul Islam of Joint Sessions Judge's Court and Special Tribunal-3 in Sherpur delivered the verdict against Russel Sangma, 25, of Battala village at Goalpara district in Assam, reports our Tangail correspondent. Acting on a tip off, a Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) team on September 13, 2007 raided the rental house of Russel at Bakakura village under Jhinaigati upazila in Sherpur and recovered 29,096 bullets of 7.62mm pistol by digging the concrete floor. Later, Mohammad Sirajul Haque, GCO of 45 Rifles Battalion in Mymensingh, filed an arms case with Jhinaigati police station in this regard. According to sources, convict Russel Sangma, an operative of India's separatist United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), is also facing a intrusion case for entering Bangladesh illegally. Our Barisal Correspondent adds: Police on Tuesday arrested Chandu Bali, 28, an Indian citizen from Madargona-Kuwait Mosque in Nalchhity upazila under Jhalakati district. The arrestee was produced in Jhalakati Judicial Magistrate's Court on Wednesday seeking a seven-day remand. But the court granted three-day's remand. S M Azizul Huq, officer-in-charge of Nalchhity police station told The Daily Star that the Hindi speaking Indian identified himself as son of Ananda Bali of Sreebastan village under Dargangha district of Bihar state in India. Chandu claimed that he came to join tablig, but failed to show any document in this regard or his passport, the OC said. Police then arrested him as a trespasser, he said.