A case has been filed against 41 leaders and workers of the Awami League and associated organizations, including former state minister for water resources Mahbubur Rahman, former upazila parishad chairman SM Rakibul Ahsan, and former mayor Bipul Chandra Howladar, on charges of murdering Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader Ziaur Rahman 14 years ago.
The case also names an additional 20 to 25 unidentified individuals as accused.
Ashish Roy, magistrate of the Kalapara Senior Judicial Magistrate Court, took cognizance of the allegations and directed the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kalapara to register the case on Sunday.
Qayyum Hossain, a bench assistant of the court, confirmed the order.
Advocate Khandkar Shahab Uddin, the lawyer for the plaintiff, said that Saifur Rahman, joint convener of the upazila Chhatra Dal, filed the case in the Kalapara Senior Judicial Magistrate Court on Sunday afternoon.
According to the case summary, the plaintiff's brother, Ziaur Rahman, a leader of the Patuakhali District Chhatra Dal, was brutally hacked and killed by the defendants on October 24, 2010, in an effort to suppress an “anti-Hasina” movement.
The assassination plan was allegedly devised at the residence of the then Upazila Awami League President Mahbubur Rahman. Rakibul Islam, general secretary of the upazila unit of the party, is accused of financing the killing mission.
The defendants, armed with sharp weapons, attacked the plaintiff's residence on motorcycles, abducted Ziaur Rahman at gunpoint, and took him to the Pakhimara market.
Following the instructions of the accused, the victim's hands and legs were severed, and his chest and back were chopped. The bones of his body were also broken, according to the case statement.
After severely injuring the victim, the accused left his body on the street and looted 17 cows and 16 goats from the plaintiff's house, it added.
The victim was rescued and taken to the hospital, but the attending doctor referred him to Dhaka for better treatment. Despite receiving prolonged medical care, the victim eventually died at home.
The Kalapara police station was requested to conduct an autopsy on the victim's body, but allegedly, due to pressure from the prime accused, Mahbubur Rahman, the police hurriedly buried the body.
The case statement said police and the court initially refused to register the plaintiff's case. However, the plaintiff filed the case again after the fall of the Awami League government
Kalapara Police Station OC Ali Ahmed said that further legal action would be taken after receiving the court order.