Arms case: Regent chairman Shahed gets life term
A Dhaka tribunal today sentenced Regent Group Chairman Mohammad Shahed to life term in prison in an arms case.
He was also given seven years' imprisonment for possessing bullets but the punishment will be run concurrently, the court said.
Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Special Tribunal-1 of Dhaka handed down the sentence in presence of Shahed at the courtroom.
Before that, Shahed, accused in over 76 cases, was produced before the tribunal amid tight security.
In the judgment, the judge said the prosecution has been able to prove the charges brought against Shahed undoubtedly and he was given the highest punishment.
The judge also said there is no scope to show him any mercy at this stage. This judgment will send a clear message for others, the judge added.
Soon after the pronouncement of the verdict, Shahed, standing in the dock, said he was sentenced wrongly, adding that he would challenge it at the higher court.
The prosecution, however, expressed satisfaction over the verdict.
Earlier, the prosecution and the defence completed their arguments.
Shahed was arrested on July 15 from Satkhira when he was trying to leave the country on a boat.
He was later remanded in a case filed over issuing fake Covid-19 test results and charging patients unfairly for testing and treatment.
On July 19, a team of DB police found Shahed's private car in front of a house in Sector-11, in the city's Uttara Paschim area. They then seized a pistol with a round of bullets from the car and later a case under the Arms Act was filed against him.
DB Inspector Md Sairul Islam on July 30 submitted the charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka, showing 13 people as prosecution witnesses. The Special Tribunal-1 of Dhaka framed charges against Shahed, accused in over 60 cases, on August 27 in the case.
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