10-Truck Arms Haul
2 magistrates testify in court
Two magistrates, who recorded statements of the witnesses and the accused in the 10-truck arms haul cases, testified before a Chittagong court yesterday.
Both of the metropolitan magistrates--Muntasir Ahmed and Md Abu Hannan--were later cross-examined by defence
counsels.
In his testimony, Muntasir said he took the statement of former DGFI director general Maj Gen (retd) Sadik Hasan Rumi, a prosecution witness.
He was cross-examined by the counsels of former DGFI director Brig Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, former state minister for home Lutfuzzaman Babar, and former director general of National Security Intelligence (NSI) Brig Gen (retd) Abdur Rahim.
Replying to a question, Muntasir said, “I recorded everything in the witness's statement that he [Rumi] said and left nothing.†In another reply, he said there was no case reference in Rumi's statement.
The other magistrate, Md Abu Hannan, testified that he took the confessional statement of the accused, NSI director Wing Commander (retd) Shahabuddin, and the statement of the prosecution witness, constable AKM Mohiuddin.
He was later cross-examined by Shahabuddin's counsel. When the counsel claimed that he recorded the confessional statement ignoring Criminal Procedures Code (CrPC), Hannan denied it.
On April 2, 2004, around 1,500 wooden boxes containing arms and ammunition were seized at the jetty of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd. Two cases were filed the next day.
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