A court here on Monday sentenced 26 people, including ex-city councillor Nur Hossain, to death and nine others to different jail terms in the two cases filed over the sensational seven-murder incident.Judge Syed Enayet Hossain of District and Sessions Judge’s court pronounced the combined verdict in the two cases in presence of 23 convicts brought from Kashimpur Jail in between 7:30am and 9:30am.The Judge started reading out the verdict in his crowded courtroom around 10:00 am amid tight security in and around the court premises.The court pronounced the verdict after the trial of two separate cases filed over the grisly seven-murder incident.
The condemned convicts are Nur Hossain, a former councillor of Narayanganj City Corporation, and three sacked Rab-11 officials – Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander M Masud Rana, SI Purnendu Bala, Habildar Emdadul Haq, constables Shihab Uddin, Arif Hossain, Lance Nayek Hira Miah, Belal Hossain, sainik Abdul Alim, sainik Abu Tayeb, sainik Asaduzzaman Nur, sainik Mohiuddin Munshi, Alamin, Tajul Islam, sergeant Enamul Kabir, Nur Hossain’s nine associates who were arrested in India—Selim, Sanaullah Sana, Shahjahan, Jamal Uddin, Mortaza Zaman Charchil, Ali Mohammad, Mizanur Rahman Dipu, Raham Ali and Abul Bashar.Besides, the court sentenced constable Habibur Rahman to 17 years’ imprisonment, ASI Abul Kalam Azad, ASI Kamal Hossain, constable Babul Hasan, Corporal Mokhlesur Rahman, Lance Corporal Ruhul Amin, Sepoy Nuruzzaman to 10 years’ imprisonment, while ASI Bazlur Rahman and Habildar Nasir Uddin to seven years’ imprisonment.Among the 35 convicts, 12 are on the run.After the verdict, Selina Begum Beauty, the widow of slain Narayanganj city councilor Nazrul Islam, expressed satisfaction over the verdict. “We wanted justice and we got it. Now we demand its immediate implementation,” she told reporters.Shahidul Islam alias Shaheed Chairman, father-in-law of Nazrul Islam, said, “The associates of Nur Hossain are active and those who were excluded from the chargesheet are giving threat to Nazrul’s family members. Still, Siddhirganj is under the control of Nur Hossain and he controls everything from jail”.Susmita Sarker, daughter of slain lawyer Chandan Sarker, also said they are happy over the judgment.Terming the verdict ‘epoch-making’ one, Wazed Ali Khokon, public prosecutor of the court, said the court passed a combined verdict in the two cases filed over the incident.The lawyers for the plaintiff also expressed their satisfaction.Meanwhile, the defence lawyers said they will move the higher court for a review of the judgment.Advocate Shakhawat Hossain Khan, a lawyer of the plaintiff, said, “We are happy with the verdict but we had expected the toughest punishment of the 35 accused. Anyway, we demanded prompt execution of the verdict.”Terming the verdict as an exemplary one, the plaintiff counsel said criminals would get lessons through the verdict.Earlier on November 30, the judge of the District and Sessions Judge’s court set the date for the pronouncement of the verdict on completion of hearing on the law-point arguments in the case.Nur Hossain, a former councillor of Narayanganj City Corporation, and three sacked Rab-11 officials — Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander M Masud Rana — were among the 35 accused in the case.Nur Hossain and his associates went into hiding following the murders. He was eventually brought back home from India after arrest from an apartment in Kolkata on June 14, 2014.On April 27, 2014, Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam, his three associates and driver were abducted from Fatullah area.At the same time, senior lawyer at the District Judge’s Court Chandan Kumar Sarkar and his driver were also abducted on their way to the capital.Three days after their abduction, the bodies of six men, including those of Nazrul and Chandan, were recovered from the Shitalakhya River. The following day, the body of Nazrul’s car driver Jahangir was recovered from the river.Later, Selina Islam Beauty, the widow of Nazrul Islam, filed a case against six people while adv Chandan Sarkar’s son-in-law filed another case.
source:UNB
