HC upholds death penalty for 4 in Rajon murder case

The High Court has maintained the maximum penalty a lower court had handed down to four men for clubbing 13-year-old Rajon to death in Sylhet. Justice Jahangir Hossain and Justice Md Jahangir Hossain's bench delivered the verdict on the convicts' appeal and death reference in the Samiul Alam Rajon murder case on Tuesday. Death sentences were upheld for prime accused Kamrul Islam, Moina, Tajuddin and Zakir. The court also maintained seven-year imprisonment for Kamrul's brothers – Ali Haider, Muhit Alam and Shamim Ahmed – and one year jail sentence for Dulal Ahmed and Aiyaz Ali. The life imprisonment sentence of Nur Ahmed, who had filmed the torture and killing of Rajon, was commuted to six months. Rajon's father Sheikh Azizur Rahman Alam said he was satisfied with the verdict. Rajon was tied to a pole and beaten to death on July 8, 2015 at Kumargaon bus station on the outskirts of Sylhet by several men who accused him of stealing a rickshaw van. They recorded the incident on a mobile phone and posted the gory footage on social media, triggering a massive outcry across Bangladesh. A Sylhet court sentenced Kamrul, Moina, Tajuddin and Zakir to death on November 8 that year and fined them Tk10,000 each. Nur was sentenced to life in prison and fined Tk10,000 for filming the video of the killing. Apart from them, Kamrul's brothers and Moina were given seven years jail while Dulal, Aiyaz and Moina were given one year jail. Moina was sentenced thrice in the case. The death reference reached the High Court on November 10 last year. The court started appeals hearing on January 30 this year. Appeals hearing concluded on March 12.