Bangladesh High Court Commutes ULFA Leader's Death Sentence

The Bangladesh High Court has reduced the death sentence of ULFA leader Paresh Baruah to life imprisonment in connection with a 2004 arms smuggling case. The court also acquitted six individuals, including a former minister, and reduced the sentences of six others involved in the case.

In a significant judicial decision, the Bangladesh Supreme Court's High Court Division altered the sentence of Paresh Baruah, leader of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), from death to life imprisonment. The ruling comes in response to his involvement in a notorious arms smuggling operation in 2004, according to legal representatives.

Originally sentenced to death for orchestrating the shipment of arms across ten trucks intercepted in Chittagong, Baruah leads ULFA's military operations. ULFA remains outlawed in India. Notably, the court acquitted six individuals involved, including former Minister of State for Home Affairs, Lutfuzzaman Babar.

This landmark verdict further reduced sentences for six others previously condemned to death, granting them a ten-year term. The case has its roots in a split within ULFA in 2011, when leader Arabinda Rajkhowa's faction engaged in peace talks, diverging from Baruah's anti-negotiation stance.

(With inputs from agencies.)