A trial court in Jhalakathi has sentenced to death five militants of banned Islamist outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for killing district public prosecutor Haider Hossain eight years ago.
Muhammad Abdul Halim, the additional district and sessions judge of Jhalakathi, handed down the verdict yesterday in presence of three JMB men. Two other convicts are on the run.
The convicts are Billal Hossain (absconding) and Abu Shahadat Md Tanvir alias Mehedi Hasan alias Mushfique of Barguna; Murad Hossain of Khulna; and Sagir Hossain Bhuiyan (absconding) and Amirul Islam alias Amir alias Halkhat alias Hiron alias Milad of Dhaka.
Haider was shot dead in the night of April 11, 2007 near his house while returning home after offering prayers at the adjacent graveyard mosque – 13 days after the execution of six top JMB leaders including its chief Shayakh Abdur Rahman and Siddiqur Rahman alias Bangla Bhai.
Haider had led the prosecution in the trial against seven topmost JMB leaders for the killing of two district judges – Jagonnath Parey and Shahid Sohel Ahmed – on November 14, 2005.
Of the seven, six were executed on March 29, 2007 in four prisons of the country – Kashimpur, Comilla, Mymensingh and Pabna – under tight security and secrecy. The five others are Ataur Rahman Sunny, Abdul Awal Molla alias Omar alias Shakil Ahmed, Amjad Hossain alias Khalid Saifullah, Iftekhar Hassan Al Mamun and absconding Asadul Islam alias Arif
After the executions, the JMB militants threatened to kill Haider within one month.
Tarek Ibne Haider, the only son of prosecutor Haider, filed the murder case on April 12, 2007 with the Jhalakathi sadar police against unknown persons.
CID inspector Mosharraf Hossain, the fifth investigation officer, submitted charge sheet against the five JMB men on January 17, 2010 – around 39 months after the killing. The charge sheet was prepared based on the confessional statement of one of the convicts Murad and other evidence.
None of the family members of the victim was present in the court during pronouncement of the verdict yesterday.
Contacted over the phone, Tarek said they were happy with the verdict. He demanded quick execution of the verdict and erecting a memorial at the spot where his father had been killed.
M Alam Khan Kamal, additional public prosecutor of Jhalakathi, pleaded for the state. Lutfar Rahman represented the three convicts now under custody while Manjur Rahman stood for the two fugitives as state defence counsel.
Kamal said after the indictment, the case was sent to Barisal Speedy Trial Tribunal on November 30, 2010 which recorded the testimonies of 55 out of 57 witnesses. It was sent to the Jhalakathi District Judge’s Court on June 26, 2011 since the 135-day timeframe of the tribunal ended by then.
The Jhalakathi First Additional District Judge’s Court resumed the trial on July 12, 2011 and recorded statement of another witness before delivery of the verdict.