An accused in the murder case of garment worker Alo Akter has escaped from a Dhaka court after removing his handcuffs.
The accused, Md Kawsar Mia, fled from the dock of the Dhaka First Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court, presided over by Acting Judge Mosaddeq Minhaj, on Tuesday.
Inspector Mohsin Hossain of the court's prosecution division confirmed the matter.
"Kawsar removed his handcuffs and fled from the dock around 12:40pm," he said.
Constable Arafat, who was responsible for escorting Kawsar to and from the court, said the accused was handcuffed while standing in the dock.
"The accused was handcuffed while standing in the dock. I went to the front of the courtroom to take custody of him, and he took advantage of my absence to remove his handcuffs and flee," he said.
The case is currently at the witness examination stage, with Tuesday scheduled for recording testimony. Kawsar, who had been in jail since his arrest, was brought to court for the hearing.
However, no witnesses appeared before the court. The next date for recording testimony has been set for January 28, court bench assistant Riaz Hossain said.
Alo was stabbed to death in a bathroom at her home in the Dakshin Para area of Dakshinkhan on July 20, 2020.
The following day, her father, Robiul Islam, filed a murder case with Dakshinkhan Police Station against unidentified suspects.
Police arrested Kawsar from the Tongi area on the same day while investigating the case. The following day, he gave a confessional statement before a court, admitting to the murder.
In his statement, Kawsar said he had been in a romantic relationship with Alo for about a year. However, she had started avoiding him shortly before the incident. He later learned that she was involved with another man and had been refusing to speak to him.
According to his statement, Kawsar waited outside Alo's house on July 20, 2020. Around 9pm, he saw her to go the bathroom. When she came out and went to fetch a bucket from her room, he stopped her and tried to talk to her.
After Alo refused to speak to him, he stabbed her in the chest and back with a knife, according to his confessional statement.
Following the investigation, Sub-Inspector Sujan Chandra Karmakar of Dakshinkhan Police Station submitted a charge sheet against Kawsar on June 30, 2021.
The court framed charges against him on July 20, 2022, and subsequently began the trial.
So far, two witnesses, Alo's father, Robiul Islam, and her elder sister, Rabbina Akter, have testified in the case.
Kawsar had been in custody since his arrest.