A court in Dhaka has sentenced eight people, including expelled Jubo League leader Golam Kibria Shamim alias GK Shamim, in an arms case filed at Gulshan police station.
Judge Sheikh Shamidul Islam of Dhaka's Third Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court handed down the sentence in a packed courtroom on Sunday.
The other convicts in the case are GK Shamim’s bodyguards Delwar Hossain, Murad Hossain, Jahidul Islam, Shahidul Islam, Kamal Hossain, Samsad Hossain and Aminul Islam.
Earlier, on August 25, the court set the date for pronouncing the verdict as both the prosecution and the defence had concluded their arguments in the case.
During closing arguments, the prosecution sought maximum punishment for all accused.
On September 21, 2019, Rapid Action Battalion Nayek Subedar Mizanur Rahman filed the case against GK Shamim and his bodyguards for possession of arms.
A day earlier, RAB arrested GK Shamim and seized Tk1.80 crore in cash, Tk165.27 crore worth of fixed deposit receipts (FDR), alcohol and firearms from his Niketon residence in Dhaka's Gulshan area.
During the raid, RAB also arrested seven of his bodyguards and confiscated their arms.
On October 27, 2019, RAB Deputy Director Shekhar Chandra Mallik, also the investigating officer of the case, pressed charges against the accused.
The court framed charges against the eight on January 28, 2020.