Staff Correspondent:

A Dhaka court today sentenced expelled Jubo Mohila League leader Shamima Nur Papia and her husband Mofizur Rahman Sumon to 20-year imprisonment in an arms case.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Qayesh passed the order, sentencing the couple 20-year imprisonment in one section of the act, while they were sentenced to seven-year imprisonment in another.

Both the sentence would run concurrently, meaning the couple would have to suffer total 20 years behind the bars.

The court on September 27 set today to pronounce judgement as both the prosecution and defence concluded their closing arguments and rebuttal in the case.

The prosecution on September 8 ended their testimony in the case as they produced a total of 12 witnesses on different hearing dates.

The court on August 23 framed charges in the case.

Investigation officer (IO) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Sub-

Inspector Arifuzzaman filed charge-sheet against the couple in the case on June 29, making 12 people witnesses.

Earlier on February 22, RAB arrested Papia and her husband, along with

two of their accomplices, from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with counterfeit banknotes, foreign currencies and cash.

RAB later raided their two luxurious flats in the capital’s Indira Road area and recovered a foreign-made pistol, two magazines, 20 bullets, five bottles of foreign liquor and Taka 58.41 lakh in cash, among other things. (Source: BSS)