The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing till January 22 on an appeal filed against a High Court verdict that acquitted six former army personnel in the jail killing case.
An Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice M Muzammel Hossain passed the order after hearing argument from Anisul Huq, principal state counsel for the case, and Attorney General Mahbub-e-Alam.
Citing the prosecution witnesses’ statement Anisul told the court that the conspiracy to kill the four national leaders in Dhaka Central Jail took place at Bangabhaban.
On November 1 in 2012, the government submitted a ‘concise statement’ before the Appellate Division for appeal hearing of the Jail Killing Case.
The statement challenged a High Court verdict that had acquitted several suspects including four ex-army personnel of charges of the gruesome 1975 jail carnage.
On January 11, 2011, the Supreme Court permitted the government to file appeal against the High Court verdict and summoned two acquitted fugitives to surrender.
On October 20, 2004, during the times of subsequent BNP rule, the lower court sentenced three fugitives to death and 12 to life-term imprisonment.
The attorney general’s office filed five leave-to-appeal petitions with the apex court on September 14, 2009 against the acquittals.
The acquitted army officers and personnel were Lt Col (dismissed) Syed Farooq-ur Rahman, Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Maj (retd) AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Major (retd) Bazlul Huda, Dafadar (dismissed) Marfat Ali and Dafadar (dismissed) Abdul Hashem Mridha.
Farooq, Shahriar, Mohiuddin and Bazlul Huda were executed on January 27, 2010 following their conviction and death sentence pronounced by the SC in the Bangabandhu murder case.
Marfat Ali and Abul Hashem have been on the run for long while nobody knows the whereabouts of condemned convict Risaldar Muslehuddin. Banglanews24.com
