Suspects Rubel Miah, Arju Miah and the absconding Ustar Miah have received death sentences and will also be fined Tk 10,000 each.
Rubel’s brother Jewel Miah and Shahed have received a seven-year jail sentence and will be fined Tk 5,000 each.
Jewel and Rubel’s father Abdul Ali Bagal, the absconding Babul Miah and Billol were acquitted by the court after the prosecution failed to prove their involvement in the murders.
On Feb 12, 2016, the four children, all between 7 and 10 years old, went missing from a village in the district’s Bahubal Upazila.
Monir Mia, 7, Zakaria Ahmed Shubho, 8, Tajel Mia, 10 and Ismail Hossain, 10, had gone to a field next to their homes to play.
Five days later, locals at Sundrateki village spotted their bodies buried under heaps of soil.
Police said disputes between Panchayets or village councils over land ownership had led to the murders of the children.According to the locals, Bagal Panchayet and Talukder Panchayet have been at loggerheads for a long time.
Police pressed charges against nine people, but one of them died in what the police had described as a shootout.
The trial began in September last year in the court of Habiganj’s district and sessions judge.
In March this year, it was transferred to the Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal in Sylhet.
Public Prosecutor Kishore Kumar Kar said the court arguments were concluded on Jul 20.
Source: bdnews24
