The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday published a 68-page verdict upholding the death sentence of a Rajshahi University professor along with another for murdering fellow faculty Dr S Taher Ahmed in 2006.
The verdict was published after being signed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique and six judges of the Appellate Division.
In its observation, the Appellate Division said that convict Prof Dr Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin feared that he will not be able to become a professor if Taher remained alive, and killed him out of professional jealousy, BSS reported.
Segufta Tabassum Ahmed, advocate of the Supreme Court and daughter of Prof Taher, told BSS: “We’ve received the certified copy of the verdict. We expect that the death penalties will be implemented soon.”
The Appellate Division on April 5 upheld the original verdict handed down by the Speedy Trial Tribunal awarding death penalty to Prof Dr Mohiuddin and caretaker of teachers’ housing area Jahangir Alam for the gruesome murder.
The Appellate Division simultaneously upheld the life term of two others – Jahangir’s brother Nazmul Alam and his brother-in-law Abdus Salam.
The trial court originally handed down death penalty to the four people but a High Court division bench later acquitted Nazmul and Salam.
Taher was a full professor in the Geology and Mining Department while convict Mohiuddin is an associate professor in the same department. He went missing from his university quarter on February 1 evening while his body was found the next day in the septic tank.
On March 17, 2007, police filed the charge sheet against six. On May 22, 2008, the Rajshahi Speedy Trial Tribunal sentenced four people to death and acquitted two others. The acquitted were – former RU Chhatra Shibir president Mahbubul Alam Salehi and Azimuddin Munshi.
On April 21, 2013, the High Court upheld the death sentence of Dr Mohiuddin and Md Jahangir, and commuted the death sentences of Nazmul and Salam to life imprisonment.
As the death sentence convicts appealed against the High Court verdict, the appeal hearing began on February 22 this year.