Sunday, September 8, 2024

SC upholds death for 2 fugitive army men

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday awarded capital punishment to two absconding army personnel in connection with the much talked about jail killing case. The two fugitives are dafadar Marfat Ali Shah and dafadar Abdul Hashem Mridha. The HC had acquitted them of the charge. With this, three army personnel have been given capital punishment. Earlier, risalder (retd) Muslemuddin was given the death sentence.
The six-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain, delivered the verdict after turning down the High Court’s judgment in the case. In its order, the apex court said the allegations brought against the convicts have been proved beyond reasonable doubt. They were alleged to have been involved in the conspiracy to kill four national leaders inside Dhaka Central Jail.
The Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s judgment which had convicted and sentenced the three army personnel to death and handed down life imprisonment to 12 others, of which eight are now on the run and four have already been executed in the Bangabandhu assassination case.
The eight fugitives are: Lt. Col. (dismissed) Khondaker Abdur Rashid, Lt. Col. (relieved) Shariful Haq Dalim, Lt. Col. (retd) SHMB Noor Chowdhury, Lt. Col. (retd) AM Rashed Chowdhury, Maj. (relieved) Ahmed Shariful Hossain, Capt. (retd) Abdul Majed, Capt. (relieved) Kismat Hasem and Capt. (relieved) Nazmul Hossain.
The four executed are: Lt. Col. (dismissed) Syed Farooq-ur Rahman, Lt. Col. (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Maj. (retd) Bazlul Huda and Maj. (Retd) AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed.
After the apex court’s verdict, advocate Anisul Huq, chief state counsel in the case, told reporters that the court has granted the government’s appeal in the case. The trial of the killing of four national leaders has finally ended following the apex court’s verdict, he added. Expressing satisfaction over the verdict, Anisul said the apex court has delivered a “historic verdict”.
“All the convicts are now on the run. The government should execute the apex court verdict after bringing them back to Bangladesh. It should trace the convicts and execute the Supreme Court’s order to ensure justice for the bereaved families,” he noted.
During the hearing, Anisul told the court that the conspiracy to kill the four national leaders was hatched at Bangababhan, but the gruesome killings took place inside the central jail.
The national leaders — Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, AQM Qamruzzaman and Mohammad Monsoor Ali — were brutally killed on November 3, 1975, inside the Dhaka Central Jail.
Anisul also termed the HC verdict as “distorted” and “incorrect” as it awarded capital punishment only to risaldar (retd) Muslemuddin, though several prosecution witnesses had made the same allegation against more people.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told reporters that this verdict will set an example in establishing the rule of law in the country.
Former home minister Md Nasim, MP, son of Mohammad Monsoor Ali, and Simin Hossen Rimi, daughter of Tajuddin Ahmed, were present when the apex court delivered its verdict. They expressed satisfaction after hearing verdict.
“We want immediate execution of the apex court’s verdict in the case,” Nasim said.
“The verdict has made me happy. It has unearthed the conspiracy and awarded capital punishment to the conspirators,” she added.
She expressed hope that such incidents would not take place in the country following the apex court’s verdict.
Advocate Anisul Huq and Attorney General Mahbubey Alam appeared for the government, while state appointed defence counsel barrister Abdulla Al-Mamun appeared for the convicts.

-With The Independent input

Related News

Motorcycle sales tumble to seven-year low

Mahfuz Ullah Babu Rising costs, consumers’ weakening purchasing capacity, and adverse policy treatments blamed The hope of manufacturers for a scaled-up motorcycle market – to reach a million units a year by 2027 – now seems to be fading away. The economic slowdown, coupled with a sharp rise in costs and selling prices, has instead ... Read more

Metro rail to begin operations on Fridays too

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) is set to launch metro rail services on Fridays soon. Currently, the services are closed on Fridays. MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, told media on Monday that the company started preparatory work on the day to start services on ... Read more

Academic activities in all public universities in Bangladesh remain stalled

Shahin Akhter Amid the academic activities coming to a near halt in most public universities triggered by a wave of resignation from top officials, the Secondary and Higher Education Division on Thursday in an order asked the universities tackling the situation to allow a senior teacher to carry out the administrative and finance related tasks ... Read more

Sundarbans to reopen for fishers, tourists from Sept 1

News Desk : dhakamirror.com After nearly three months of closure, the Forest Department will reopen the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO world heritage site from September 1 (Sunday). From that day, fishermen and tourists will be able to enter the world’s largest mangrove forest after obtaining a permit from the Department ... Read more

Govt decreases fuel prices

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government reduced octane and petrol prices by Tk6 per litre, according to a press release by the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources issued today (31 August). Meanwhile, the price of diesel has been reduced by Tk1.25 per litre. Starting tomorrow (1 September), the new price for octane will ... Read more

All educational institutions to reopen on 18 August

News Desk : dhakamirror.com All educational institutions under the education ministry have been instructed to resume academic activities from Sunday, August 18, 2024. The announcement was made through an office order issued by the ministry on Thursday. The order said that following the approval of the chief adviser the educational institutions were instructed to take ... Read more

Interim govt led by Dr Yunus sworn in

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Nobel Peace Prize winner and globally acclaimed economist Professor Muhammad Yunus was sworn-in as the chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh Thursday evening (8 August). President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to the 17-member interim government. Leaders of various political parties including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiyo Party, Krishak ... Read more

Dr Yunus to lead the interim government

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus will be the chief adviser of the interim government, said a press release of Bangabhaban yesterday. The decision came after a meeting on the formation of the interim government between key organisers of the anti-discriminatory movement and President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The heads of the three armed ... Read more

Mainul Islam made new IGP

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government on Tuesday appointed Traffic and Driving School commandant Md Moinul Islam as the new inspector general of police. Public Security Division of the home ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard on Tuesday. The decision came a day after the fall of Sheikh Hasina government amid mass uprising ... Read more

Curfew to end on Tuesday morning; all offices, educational institutions set to open

News Desk : dhakamirror.com An ongoing curfew will be in effect from Monday midnight until 6am on Tuesday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate. Starting Tuesday morning, all government, semi-government, autonomous, semi-autonomous, private institutions, factories, schools, colleges, madrasas, universities and all educational institutions in Bangladesh will remain open, a press release of the ISPR ... Read more

Internet likely to face disruption for 12 hours today

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Internet connectivity in Bangladesh will face partial disruption for 12 hours from this morning because of maintenance of 1st submarine cable, said Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC) in a press release. The statement said from 6:01 am to 6:00 pm, the consortium has scheduled maintenance for a land cable fault near ... Read more

Chess Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passes away

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passed away at a hospital in the city after suffering a heart attack during the 12th round game of the ongoing National Chess Championship at the Chess Federation on Friday. Zia bhai is no more. He breathed his last at around 6:00pm at Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital,’ confirmed ... Read more

Ending GPA-5 era, SSC results to be published with English letter grades

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams will no longer be evaluated under the Grade Point Average 1-5 scale but rather be graded with English letters. A meeting of the National Curriculum Coordination Committee with the Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury approved the new evaluation framework on Monday (1 July). “There are ... Read more

Over 1.04 crore animals sacrificed on Eid-ul-Adha this year

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A total of 1,04,08,918 animals were sacrificed across the country on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Azha this year. As many as 3, 67, 106 more animals were slaughtered this year compared to previous year, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock said in a press release on Tuesday. This year the ... Read more

9am-5pm office time to resume from Wednesday

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The public offices across Bangladesh are set to go back to old office timing from 9:00am to 5:00pm with Fridays and Saturdays being the weekly holidays as usual from Wednesday. The cabinet in its weekly meeting on June 3 decided restoring the old office timing between 9:00am and 5:00pm on weekdays ... Read more

5 magnitude earthquake jolts parts of Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A magnitude 5 earthquake jolted a large part of the country on Sunday (2 June) afternoon., including Dhaka. The quake struck at 2:44pm from a depth of about 110km, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, and was centred in the Mawlaik area of Myanmar, 441 km southeast of Dhaka. The quake ... Read more

Over 2cr to be fed as daylong Vitamin ‘A’ plus campaign begins

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The National Vitamin A-plus campaign is being conducted with a target to feed the capsules to over 2.22 crore children, aged between six months and 59 months. The campaign started at 8am on Saturday (June 1) and will continue till 4pm. Feeding Vitamin A capsules prevents blindness in children, ensures normal ... Read more

Postponed notice fake, HSC exams on June 30 as per schedule

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams will be held on time as per previous announcement, beginning on 30 June. The routine deferring the exams for a month that is making rounds in social media, is fake, the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka said on Saturday. A circular ... Read more

3 month-long ban on fishing, tourism in Sundarbans begins

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The forest department has imposed this three-month ban on fishing and tourism in the Sundarbans. Local communities, including fishermen, wood and honey collectors, who depend on the Sundarbans for their livelihoods, are concerned about a three-month ban on all activities in the forest starting Saturday. The restriction applies to visitors, including ... Read more

Appellate Division upholds HC verdict on DU teacher Samia’s demotion

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Appellate Division today (26 May) upheld the judgement of the High Court which declared illegal the demotion order of Dhaka University faculty Samia Rahman on charges of plagiarism. A four-member appellate bench headed by senior judge M Enayetur Rahim of the Appellate Division rejected the appeal of DU as invalid. ... Read more