Bangladesh ex-minister acquitted of India rebel gun-running

DHAKA: A Bangladesh court on Wednesday acquitted an ex-minister sentenced to death for historic gun-running to Indian rebels, charges his lawyer said had been falsified by the now-ousted previous government.

Lutfuzzaman Babar, a former home affairs minister in his late 60s, was acquitted along with five others by Chittagong´s High Court, his lawyer Shishir Monir told reporters. “The prosecution failed to produce any credible evidence”, Monir said.

He said Babar had been falsely implicated in the gun-running plot because he was a senior member of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), arch-rivals of Hasina.

The case dates back to 2004 when Bangladeshi police seized 10 trucks packed with weapons, including rockets and grenades.