BANGLADESH

Tenth witness in the sensational 10-truck arms haul case, a police official, told a port city court on Tuesday that a number of National Security Intelligence (NSI) officials had pressured against the seizure.

Then deputy commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Abdullah Hel Baki made his submission in the court of S M Mojibur Rahman, the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge and Senior Special Tribunal-1 judge.

Baki said the NSI officials were at the jetty of state-owned Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Factory Ltd (CUFL) during the seizure on the night of Apr 1, 2004.

Six people, including the then deputy director, Maj Liakat Hossain, came to meet him with two police officials on duty at the police camp at the coal depot northeast of the jetty.

"Maj Liakat asked me, 'Why are you making the seizure? DG [NSI director general] Brigadier General Abdur Rahim knows about this.' He then passed me his mobile phone and asked me to talk with the DG on line."

Baki, who is currently the Sylhet Metropolitan Police's additional commissioner, added that they got very irritated when he declined to talk over phone with Rahim.

He continued that his senior, then CMP Commissioner Sabbir Ali, told him not to get into conflict with the NSI officials without proper evidence.

"They were not arrested as I thought that NSI's involvement would come out during the probe anyway. Also, Maj Liakat put pressur on me."

"Even the probe committee led by the home secretary did not accept my claims about their involvement," Baki added.

The police official also identified Liakat Hossain in the court, who is accused of overseeing the unloading of the cache of arms at the jetty that night.

Former NSI chiefs Rahim and Rejjakul Haider, Liakat, then Industries Minister Matiur Rahman Nizami and State Minister for Home Lufozzaman Babar are accused in the case.