Taking place in April 2014, the abduction and murder of seven individuals, including Narayanganj City Corporation panel mayor Nazrul Islam and senior lawyer in district judge’s court Chandan Kumar Sarker, garnered worldwide attention as well when investigation revealed involvement of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officials.
The District and Sessions Judge’s Court in Narayanganj is all set to deliver the verdict in the gruesome seven-murder case that shook the entire nation nearly three years ago.
Three former RAB officers were made accused in the murder case, who along with their cohorts took money from local Awami League leader Nur Hossain, prime accused in the case, to kill the victims, according to the case.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam yesterday said he expected exemplary punishment for the killers. “People from all walks of life want punishment for the killers. So do I,” he told reporters.
Saying the murders were planned, he said: “The accused [the RAB officers] who were involved in the murder were duty-bound to protect people’s life and property, to safe guard independence of commoners. If they were involved, they deserve no consideration.”
According to case details, Nazrul Islam, along with his three associates Moniruzzaman Swapan, Tajul Islam and Liton and Swapan’s driver Jahangir Alam, was abducted near Fatullah cricket stadium in broad daylight on April 27, 2014.
Chandan, whose car was behind the car carrying Nazrul and others, were also abducted along with his driver Ibrahim.
Three days into their abduction, bodies of Nazrul, Chandan and four others were recovered from Shitalakkhya and Dhaleshwari Rivers on April 30. The body of Nazrul’s driver Jahangir was recovered from the Shitalakkhya the next day.
The case statement, depositions and inquest report said the killers put the victims to sleep and wrapped their heads with polythene, before strangling them to death. Then they tied the bodies with cement bags, each filled with 24 bricks, and made an incision in the abdomen of each body to prevent the bodies from floating up. Then they dumped the bodies in the river.
23 accused arrested, 12 still in hiding
Two cases were filed over the incident.
Nazrul’s wife Selina Islam Beauty filed a case against six people, including former ward councillor and local Awami League leader Nur Hossain, while Chandan’s family filed the other case without naming anyone.
Later, Nazrul’s father-in-law Shahidul Islam claimed that RAB officials had committed the grisly murders in exchange for Tk6 crore from Nur Hossain and other accomplices.
Three RAB 11 officials – camp commander Lt Col Tareq Sayeed, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander Masud Rana – were sent on forced retirement from the defence forces for their alleged involvement and are currently in prison.
Tareq is the son-in-law of Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya.
Nur Hossain and his aides were arrested in Kolkata for illegal entry and possession of arms on June 14, 2014. India handed over Nur Hossain to Bangladesh on November 12, 2015, a day after Dhaka deported Ulfa separatist leader Anup Chetia.
Several investigation committees were formed to look into the murders.
An internal investigation of RAB found that 27 of its members, including the aforementioned officials, were involved in the incident.
The three accused RAB officials confessed to being involved in the murders after they were sacked and arrested.
After investigation, police pressed charges against 35 people and dropped names of five accused in the case. A total of 127 people were made witness and 162 pieces of evidence were presented before the court during trial.
Of the 35 accused, 23 were arrested. They are: Nur Hossain, Lt Col Tareq Sayeed, Maj Arif Hossain, Lt Commander Masud Rana, Havilder Emdadul Haque, ROG 1 Arif Hossain, Lance Nayek Hira Mia, Lance Nayek Belal Hossain, Sepoy Abu Tayeb, Constable Shihab Uddin, Sub-Inspector Purnendu Bala, Lance Corporal Ruhul Amin, Assistant Sub-Inspector Bazlur Rahman, Havilder Nasir Uddin, Assistant Sub-Inspector Abul Kalam Azad, Sepoy Nuruzzaman, Sepoy Asaduzzaman Nur, Nur Hossain (2), Mortuza Jaman Charchil, Ali Mohammad, Mizanur Rahman Dipu, Raham Ali and Abul Bashar.
The remaining 12 accusing are in hiding. They are: Nur Hossain’s cohorts Selim, Sanaullah Sana, Shahjahan and Jamal Uddin, RAB’s corporal member Latifur Rahman and Sepoy Abdul Ali, Mohiuddin Munshi, Alamin Sharif, Tajul Islam, Sergeant Enamul Kabir, Assistant Sub-Inspector Kamal Hossain and Constable Habibur Rahman.
The court framed the charges on February 8, 2015 in the presence of the 23 accused, said Public Prosecutor Wajed Ali Khokon.
It also appointed five state counsels for the 12 absconding accused, he added.
Twenty-one of the 23 accused gave confessional statements in the case. The court also heard testimonies of 104 witnesses.
Controversy over Shamim Osman’s ‘involvement’
Meanwhile, a telephone conversation between Nur Hossain and Narayanganj Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman was leaked in May 2014 which stirred up controversy.
During the 103-second conversation, Shamim asked Nur if he had received his message. In reply, Nur said he had and sought Shamim’s help to flee the country.
He addressed Shamim as his father and said he loved him very much.
In reply, Shamim assured Nur that there would be no more problems and asked him to meet a man named Gaur.
Sources in the intelligence said Nur had made the phone call to Shamim around 9:30pm on April 29, 2014 from a place near Road 4 in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
On May 23, 2014, Shamim admitted to speaking with Nur on telephone.
Speaking to reporters at his Gulshan residence, he said: “I repeatedly told Nur Hossain to surrender before the court if he was not guilty. But Nur Hossain did not accept my suggestions.
“I did not advise him to flee, but rather suggested that he should surrender to the law,” Shamim said.
Source : New Age
