10 robbers get life for possessing arms

A court here yesterday sentenced 10 forest robbers to life imprisonment under the Arms Act.

The lifers are, Sheikh Omar Faruk, 48, Md Ali, Md Abbas, Md Jahangir and Rafiq of Bagerhat; Moti Shikdar, 43, Kala Majhi, 45, Ripon Moktar, and Abdul Barek of Barguna; and Kamrul Islam of Khulna.

They all belong to infamous 'Jihad Bahini' of the Sundarbans.

Of the 10 convicts, three were present in the court while the rest were tried in absentia.

According to the prosecution, a team of the Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested Jihad, chief of 'Jihad Bahini', and his four cohorts with firearms and bullets from Katamara area under Sharankhola range of the Sundarbans on the night of January 28, 2009.

Abu Bakar, sub-inspector of Bagerhat DB police, filed a case with Sharankhola Police Station the same night, accusing five robbers, including Jihad, and several unnamed people.

After investigation, Sub-inspector Iman Uddin, also investigation officer of the case, submitted a charge sheet to the court on Feb 25 the same year.

The name of Jihad, who came out of jail on bail and later killed in a 'gunfight' with cops, was dropped from the charge sheet.