Hearing on Anup Chetia case begins

DHAKA, July 21: A Dhaka court has begun hearing of a case against Anup Chetia, general secretary of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) for illegal possession of foreign currencies, reports PTI. Chetia and his two associates were produced in the designated Dhaka court today amidst tight security. If convicted the accused may face death sentence or rigorous imprisonment between two to 14 years. The prosecution lawyer Mohammad Jahangir told the court that investigation report, the chargesheet and subsequent deposition by government witnesses established the charges against the accused. Judge M Humayn Kabir of the Fifth Assistant Metropolitan Session Judges' Court in Dhaka heard the argument from the prosecution side and fixed August 1 as the next date for hearing of the defence side. Chetia, who is also facing trial for possessing a sophisticated satellite telephone illegally, was awarded six years' rigorous imprisonment and fined 6,000 taka (approximately Rs 5000) by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court in Dhaka on October 25, 1998 for his illegal stay in Bangladesh. Chetia and his associates Babul Sharma and Laxmi Prasad Goswami are now lodged in the high-security Dhaka central jail.