More than 12 years after seven people were abducted and killed in Narayanganj, the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division is set to hear appeals in one of Bangladesh’s most notorious murder cases on 17 November, bringing the long-running legal battle a step closer to its next stage.
The case concerns the abduction and killing of seven people, including Nazrul Islam, then panel mayor of Narayanganj City Corporation, on 27 April 2014. The victims’ bodies were recovered three days after they were abducted.
The date for the hearing was fixed by the Appellate Division’s chamber court on Sunday (18 October). Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal informed journalists about the development.
On 27 April 2014, seven people were abducted from the Lamapara area of Fatullah, along the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road.
The victims were Nazrul Islam, then councillor for Ward 2 and panel mayor-2 of Narayanganj City Corporation; his friends Moniruzzaman Swapan, Tajul Islam and Liton; Nazrul’s driver Jahangir Alam; lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarkar; and Chandan’s driver Ibrahim.
Following the killings, Selina Islam Beauty, Nazrul’s wife, filed a case with Fatullah Police Station over the deaths of her husband and four associates. A separate case was filed at the same station by Bijoy Kumar Pal, Chandan Sarkar’s son-in-law, over the murders of the lawyer and his driver.
After jointly trying the two cases, a Narayanganj court on 16 January 2017 sentenced 26 of the 35 accused to death, including Noor Hossain and three former senior officers of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
The court, presided over by Narayanganj District and Sessions Judge Syed Enayet Hossain, sentenced the remaining nine accused to different terms of imprisonment.
The convicts appealed against the verdict, while the death references – mandatory reviews by the High Court before death sentences can be carried out – were sent to the High Court for consideration.
The case records were subsequently sent from the High Court’s death reference section to the Bangladesh Government Press (BG Press), which prepared the paper books and submitted them to the High Court on 7 May of that year.
Hearings on the appeals and death references began on 22 May 2017 and continued for 33 working days, with both sides presenting their arguments.
On 22 August 2017, the High Court upheld the death sentences of 15 of the 26 convicts sentenced to death by the trial court, commuting the sentences of the remaining 11 to life imprisonment. It also upheld the prison terms imposed on the other nine convicts.
Those whose death sentences were upheld included former Narayanganj City Corporation councillor Noor Hossain and three dismissed former RAB-11 officers: former commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Major (retd) Arif Hossain and Lieutenant Commander (retd) Masud Rana.
The other 11 convicts whose death sentences were upheld were dismissed former RAB personnel Md Emdadul Haque, a former habildar; Lance Naik Hira Mia; ROG-1 member A.B. Md Arif Hossain; Lance Naik Belal Hossain; Constable Abu Tayyeb Ali; Constable Shihab Uddin; Sub-Inspector Purnendu Bala; and soldiers Abdul Alim, Mohiuddin Munshi, Alamin Sharif and Tajul Islam.
The 11 convicts whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment included dismissed former RAB personnel Asaduzzaman Noor and Sergeant Enamul Kabir, along with nine associates of Noor Hossain: Murtaza Zaman Churchill, Ali Mohammad, Mizanur Rahman Dipu, Abul Bashar, Raham Ali, Jamal Uddin Sardar, Selim, who was arrested in India, Sanaullah Sana and Shahjahan.
The High Court also upheld the prison terms imposed on the remaining nine convicts, all dismissed former RAB officers and members.
Constable Habibur Rahman received a 17-year sentence, while ASI Abul Kalam Azad, ASI Kamal Hossain, Constable Babul Hasan, Corporal Mokhlesur Rahman, Lance Corporal Ruhul Amin and soldier Nuruzzaman retained their 10-year terms. ASI Bazlur Rahman and Habildar Nasir Uddin retained their seven-year sentences.
The convicts subsequently appealed against the High Court verdict. Their appeals are now scheduled for hearing by the Appellate Division on 17 November.
The upcoming hearing marks another stage in the judicial process surrounding the killings, with the Supreme Court set to consider challenges to the High Court’s decisions on the convictions and sentences.