Bangladesh High Court Reduces ULFA Leader's Life Sentence

The Bangladesh High Court has reduced the life sentence of ULFA leader Paresh Baruah to 14 years in prison. Originally sentenced to death, Baruah's punishment was downgraded amid charges related to smuggling arms for a separatist group. The court also acquitted several others linked to the case.

The Bangladesh High Court has announced a reduction in the life sentence of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) leader, Paresh Baruah, changing it to 14 years of imprisonment. This decision comes after the court had already commuted Baruah's previous death sentence just last month.

Paresh Baruah, known as the military commander of ULFA, was initially sentenced to death in 2014 following a trial held in his absence. He was found guilty of smuggling weapons to ULFA hideouts in Assam through Bangladesh's Chattogram port in 2004. The cache included thousands of grenades, rocket launchers, and bullets.

In a significant move, the High Court acquitted former Bangladesh Nationalist Party state minister Lutfuzzaman Babar and five others, who were previously sentenced to life imprisonment related to the arms smuggling case. The court cited a lack of credible evidence as a reason for the acquittals.

(With inputs from agencies.)