M Humayun Kabir of DOT : BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed has been acquitted in a case filed over trespassing into India.
East Khashi Hill District and Sessions Judges Court delivered the verdict yesterday afternoon. The court also directed authorities to return Salahuddin to Bangladesh.
Salahuddin’s lawyer SP Mohanta confirmed The Daily Star that his client was acquitted of charges yesterday after almost three years of trial.
“We have been awarded justice. The verdict proves he (Salahuddin) is innocent. Now, there is no bar to return him to Bangladesh,” lawyer Mohanta said.
Salahuddin is still awaiting an official copy of the verdict. But, he told The Daily Star: “I have been awarded justice. Now, I want to return to Bangladesh as soon as possible.”
The Daily Star tried to reach the prosecution lawyer, but could not reach him.
Previously, the court had deferred Salahuddin’s verdict for five times.
Salahuddin, 57, a policymaker of the opposition party BNP, was state minister for communication of the last Khaleda Zia-led BNP government.
Previously a joint secretary general of BNP, Salahuddin went missing from Dhaka on March 10, 2015. His family claimed he was picked up by law enforcers.
According to Meghalaya police and Indian media, Salahuddin was found “hanging around” in Shillong on May 11, 2015, after almost three months of his missing.