The High Court on Wednesday acquitted former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzaman Babar in a corruption case related to acquiring wealth beyond his known sources of income. The ruling came after Babar filed an appeal challenging the lower court’s conviction.
The bench of Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah delivered the acquittal. Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir represented Babar during the hearing, while Advocate AKM Fazlul Haque argued on behalf of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Despite this acquittal, Babar will remain behind bars as he faces 13 other cases.
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The ACC initially filed the corruption case against Babar on January 13, 2008, at the Ramna Model Police Station. A charge sheet was submitted by ACC deputy assistant secretary Rupok Kumar Saha on July 16, 2008.
Babar was first arrested from his Gulshan residence on May 28, 2007. Later that year, on October 30, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison in an arms case.
Babar also received the death penalty in two high-profile cases: the 10-truck arms haul case and the August 21 grenade attack case.
In 2018, a fast-track tribunal sentenced Babar, along with 18 others, to death for his role in the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in 2004, which killed and injured numerous people.