PW tells of late recovery of two fire arms

A prosecution witness in the 10-truck arms haul cases yesterday said two more fire arms were recovered from one of the two trawlers after the seizure of the main cache of armaments that the trawlers had carried to Chittagong on April 2, 2004.
Helal Uddin, also a then sergeant of Koiler Depot Police Outpost in Patenga, said this during his cross-examination by two defence lawyers at Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1.
Advocate Mohammad Ahasan and Advocate Kamrul Islam Sajjad, lawyers for the accused, Maj (retd) Liakat Hossain, a former director of National Security Intelligence (NSI), cross examined the prosecution witness for the second day yesterday.
Asked whether he knew about the recovery of arms from the trawlers on the next day of the arms haul, Helal replied, “On the following day or later on, a constable and two local boatmen went to the seized trawlers to get the engine and chassis numbers. They found two fire arms at the engine room."
He said, "Sub-inspector Majid of Patenga Police Station made the seizure list in this regard. But I can't recall the date.”
Helal Uddin began testifying against Maj (retd) Liakat on Monday.
Helal Uddin and Alauddin, who were the then sergeants in Patenga and the first visitors of the 10-truck arms haul scene, had been picked up by Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in 2005 in a separate case filed against them on charge of stealing two arms from the haul.
The court fixed August 27 for resuming the cross-examination of Helal.