<p>A Bangladeshi high court has commuted the death penalty of Paresh Baruah, chief of the terrorist organisation United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), to life imprisonment. The case revolves around a massive cache of arms — 10 truckloads of weapons and ammunition — intercepted during the rule of Khaleda Zia, when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami coalition was in power in 2004.</p>
<p>According to <em>Dhaka Tribune</em>, the court also acquitted former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar and five others in connection with the 2004 Chattogram arms haul.</p>
<p>The case involved the smuggling of weapons intended for anti-India militant groups. On April 1, 2004, the massive cache of arms was seized by security forces. Lutfozzaman Babar, who served as the junior minister for home affairs in the Khaleda Zia-led government between 2001 and 2006, was implicated for his role in facilitating the arms smuggling to groups hostile to India.</p>
<p>The BNP-led administration at the time reportedly provided refuge to Paresh Baruah, who is believed to be operating from China currently. Baruah was one of the six individuals initially sentenced to death in the case. While his penalty has been downgraded to life imprisonment, the remaining convicts have had their sentences reduced to 10 years in prison.</p>
<p>(<em>This is a developing story and is being updated</em>.)</p>