Arav jailed for 10 years in arms case

A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced Rabiul Islam alias Arav Khan to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment in an arms case filed against him more than eight years ago.

Judge Murshid Ahmed of Dhaka's Special Tribunal-14 handed him the sentence, in absentia.

The judge also fined him Tk 10,000, in default of which he will have to serve three more months in jail.

In the verdict, the judge said the prosecution was able to prove the charges brought against Arav Khan beyond doubt and he was given the punishment for committing offences.

The punishment of the fugitive convict, who now lives in Dubai, will be effective from the day of his arrest or surrender, the judgment said.

Expressing his satisfaction with the verdict, Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu said the government had taken initiatives to bring Arav Khan back home.

Earlier, the tribunal recorded the statements of 10 witnesses, including the complainant of the case.

According to the case statement, Arav Khan went to the house of his father-in-law Sekendar Ali in the capital's Moghbazar on January 28, 2015, to extort money from him at gunpoint. He was arrested from outside the house by Ramna police and a revolver was also recovered from him.

The case was filed against him under the Arms Act with Ramna Police Station.

After conducting an investigation, detectives pressed charges against Arav Khan on March 1 that year. The tribunal framed charges against him on May 10.

Arav Khan secured bail from a higher court on March 14 of 2018 and went into hiding. The tribunal declared him a "fugitive" in the case and issued an arrest warrant against him on October 24 that year.

The fugitive convict is also accused in another case filed over the killing of Special Branch inspector Mamun Imran Khan on July 7, 2018.

The case is now pending with the Dhaka's First Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court.

Interpol has issued a red notice for the arrest of Arav Khan who runs a jeweller's in Dubai.