Awami League (AL) leader ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury yesterday demanded that the government brings to book “the big shots” whose names came up in the verdict in the 10-truck arms haul cases and “who worked behind the scenes and are still out of reach”.
The then prime minister Khaleda Zia's silence on being informed of the haul by the then Directorate General of Forces Intelligence director general implies that she knew about the whole plan and the arms were being smuggled in upon her directions, he claimed.
Delivering the January 30 verdict, a Chittagong court, citing evidence, had mentioned of the incident of Khaleda's silence.
“Names of different local and foreign agencies and Hawa Bhaban (the so-called alternative power house of the then BNP-led government) were mentioned in this connection in the verdict,” he said.
“Tarique Rahman (Khaleda's son) is the villain of Hawa Bhaban,” he added.
“By this, it is understood that we cannot dismiss chances of the involvement of many important persons of the then government of the BNP-Jamaat alliance, including the then prime minister and her son, in the smuggling,” he said.
Although they are happy with the verdict, the government should accept their demands, said the president of AL Chittagong city unit.
Mohiuddin's statements were read out by the AL unit's General Secretary AZM Nasir Uddin at a press conference the unit organised in the former's residence in the port city to express the unit's reaction over the verdict.
Replying to journalists' queries there, Kamal Uddin Ahmed, a prosecution member in the case, said it was up to the Indian government to decide whether the then Bangladesh government had tried to damage their national integrity through the smuggling.
If they think so, they can take action against the then Bangladesh government, said Kamal, also Chittagong metropolitan public prosecutor.