Jatiya Party chairman Hossain Muhammad Ershad on Sunday appeared before a Dhaka court in a case filed in connection with the murder of Major General MA Monjoor in 1981.Ershad appeared at Dhaka’s first additional district and sessions judge’s court, adjacent to Dhaka Central Jail. Prosecution lawyer Asaduzzaman Khan Rochi placed his arguments partly on Sunday.
After the day’s hearing Judge Hosne Ara Akhter fixed January 22 for hearing further arguments of the prosecution.
Accused retired Major Kazi Emdadul Haque and retired Col Mostafa Kamal Uddin Bhuiyan were also present in the courtroom. The proceedings of the case have been stayed against other two accused retired Major General Abdul Latif and retired Lt Col Shamsur Rahman Shams by an order of the High Court.
Of the 49 witnesses, the court recorded the depositions 28 witnesses. On February 28, 1995, General Monjoor’s elder brother Barrister Abul Mansur Ahmed filed the sensational case with Panchlaish Police Station of Chittagong 14 years after the incident. The process of trial started the same year. Later, the case was transferred to a Dhaka court due to security reasons. The case has come near to the pronouncement of verdict after about 18 years and nine months.
Monjoor was shot dead on June 1, 1981, at Chittagong Cantonment. – Court Correspondent
