Trucks of arms seized at Chittagong in 2004 meant for ULFA: India’s ex-intel officer | Exclusive

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: An enormous consignment of weapons – 10 vans filled with arms — seized at Chittagong in April 2004 was meant not just for the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) but additionally for just a few different insurgent teams in India’s Northeast to destablise the nation, mentioned Major General Gaganjit Singh. In an unique interview with India Today, the retired deputy director normal of India’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) mentioned the arms provide was completed by means of the alliance between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat.

Major General Gaganjit Singh (India Today picture)

Sing’s revelation got here scorching on the heels of a current interview by ULFA chief Anup Chetia (Golap Barua) the place the latter informed the arms have been meant not just for ULFA, however different rebels too. Chetia, who was normal secretary of ULFA on the time of his arrest in Dhaka in 1997, was in jail through the Chittagong incident when the arms have been intercepted and confiscated. It was ULFA Commander-in-Chief Paresh Barua who was the mastermind of the entire plot to safe the weapons for intensifying the separatist motion in Assam, Singh mentioned.

“But he was operating in close coordination with DGFI and some NSI officials who had close links with Tareque Rahman (current acting chairman of BNP) and his cronies in what was then referred to as Hawa Bhaban (political office of BNP),” disclosed Singh.

The arms have been being provided by profiting from the BNP-Jamaat alliance to make use of Bangladesh as a sanctuary, Singh revealed.

As per BBC journalist Subir Bhaumik who broke the story of the Chittagong arms seizure, Singh was carefully related with the operation to trace down the passage of the massive weapons consignment from Beihai port in southern China to Chittagong in a ship owned by the late Salauddin Quader Chaudhury, a convicted battle felony and high BNP chief. The consignment was picked from a Chinese ship at Ranong port in Thailand.

During the final regime of the BNP-Jamaat coalition authorities (2001-2006), Hawa Bhaban earned notoriety as essentially the most secured influential and various energy home from the place Tarique, along with his handpicked set of “crooked” confidants, occurred to present inexperienced gentle to plenty of nefarious plots, together with the grenade assault on then Opposition chief Sheikh Hasina.

Born to the nation’s first navy dictator General Ziaur Rahman, and Begum Zia, Tarique now runs the BNP from London, although he’s main a fugitive life, as convicted within the August 21 grenade assault, and in a litany of cash laundering-related instances, perpetrated in that regime.

“Paresh Barua was operating from a hotel in GEC MORE in Chittagong, not far from field intelligence unit of DGFI. We had all the details of the arrival of the weapons at the CFL jetty,” mentioned Singh, whose sources in Bangladesh knowledgeable the Chittagong Metropolitan Police that the weapons consignment had landed.

Members of the Pakistan-based outfit Lashker-e-Taiba have been additionally current through the strategy planning stage conferences becoming a member of palms with Pakistan’s ISI, which was additionally concerned within the arms consignment.

“The Chittagong Police thought the weapons were meant for the Awami League (AL) and had been sent by India because the AL general secretary Abdul Jalil had threatened to bring down the BNP-Jamaat government within a month,” Singh added.

“The police had no idea this was meant for ULFA and other rebels because the DGFI had been secretive about the whole operation. As the police swung into action to seize the weapons, the media also rushed in. The whole thing blew up on the face of the BNP government,” mentioned Singh.

Bhaumik refers back to the confessions of NSCN chief Anthony Shimray, who after his arrest had informed India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) that he had deliberate to herald an identical arms consignment by means of the Cox’s Bazar route in 2008-9 and had paid Thai gunrunner Willy Naru. “But Shimray dropped his plans and was later arrested and India secured the extradition of Willy Naru for trial,” in response to Bhaumik.

From the early Nineteen Nineties till Sheikh Hasina got here to energy and cracked down on Northeast Indian rebels, the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf route was the favorite passage of the ULFA and Manipuri and Naga rebels, believed Bhaumik, the writer of ‘Insurgent Crossfire’ and ‘Troubled Periphery’, two extremely acclaimed books on India’s Northeast.

A detailed take a look at the case verdict along with a slew of nation’s mainstream media reviews would lay naked how such a cabal — hardcore extremists handpicked and raised by Tarique – loved highest state patronage to implement such evil plots.

Following exhaustive investigations, a Chittagong courtroom handed down capital punishment to 14 individuals, together with ex-ministers Lutfozzaman Babar and Motiur Rahman Nizami and former high intelligence officers. The verdict factors to the state equipment’s involvement within the smuggling of the massive cache of weapons meant for proscribed outfits.

Those accused for smuggling the arms embody ex-ministers Lutfozzaman Babar and Motiur Rahman Nizami and former high intelligence officers. (India Today picture)

Known as an “infamous armed cadre” since his college days, Babar had been given the cost of residence ministry as a state minister, a manifestation of Tarique’s affect within the celebration and his intent to empower hardliners to encourage and canopy up such crimes, in response to researchers.

So blatant was the patronisation of militant outfits throughout that regime that main analysts like Bertil Lintner described Bangladesh because the “Cocoon of Terror” and Elisa Griswold predicted an Afghan-style Islamist Revolution.

In a span of 5 months into the arms haul, the ugly August 21 grenade assault occurred, leaving not less than 24 AL activists lifeless, and Babar as soon as once more misled the investigation when he invented the story of a pickpocket named Joj Mia who, he claimed, was solely in charge for the assault.

Years later, recent investigations blew the lid off the conspirators, resulting in launch of Joj, who months again sought Tk10 crore in damages for serving jail time period regardless of being harmless.

Another convicted Motiur Rahman Nizami, since his scholar life, opposed the delivery of the youngest nation in South Asia and masterminded the formation of the militia Al Badr, that unleashed terror on peace-loving Bangladeshis, killed unarmed civilians, raped girls and destroyed properties through the Liberation War.

Yet Nizami, infamously often called “designer of death” for 1971war crimes, loved impunity over 5 a long time, till the battle crimes trial started. His rise as a minister, his entitlement to make use of the nationwide flag in his automotive stands out as a slap on thousands and thousands who suffered unspeakable atrocities in 1971, mentioned nation’s anti-war crime campaigners.

As a minister, Nizami turned down proposals by senior officers for probe, a transparent signal to cowl up all the pieces.

Abdur Rahim, then NSI boss, was in shut contact with the important thing contact particular person concerned in offloading. And even after the cops intercepted the arms consignment, they obtained a name from the convict employed for offloading and transporting of arms.

Paresh Barua lived in Bangladesh in disguise since 2001, and deliberate the smuggling with DGFI and NSI officers.

A day earlier than the haul, Rezzakul Haider, then DGFI director, mentioned with Paresh at CMH the time of arrival and offloading of weapons.

Edited By:

Tirtho Banerjee

Published On:

Feb 23, 2023