Charges against Limon in one of the two cases lodged by RAB after maiming him were yet to be withdrawn, eight months after the Home Ministry’ order.
Of the two cases, one was filed under the arms act and another for obstructing the lawmen while carrying out the government duty, attempt to murder and injuring RAB personnel (GR-46).
The hearing on withdrawal of the case (GR-46) was yesterday deferred to April for the sixth time.
Advocate M Alam Khan Kalam, additional public prosecutor of Jhalakathi, and defence lawyer Akkas Shikdar explained that as the chief judicial magistrate of Jhalakathi had been transferred in August 2013, acting chief judicial magistrate and senior Judicial Magistrate Md Arifuzzaman had no jurisdiction to hear such appeal.
Limon Hossain, a college student who used to work in a brick kiln to bear his educational expenses, was allegedly maimed by RAB shooting on March 23, 2011, just about fortnight before his HSC examination.
Limon’s left leg was amputated from the thigh on March 27 at Dhaka National Institute for Traumatolgy and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) Hospital. After shooting, RAB filed the two cases against Limon and seven others on the same day with Rajapur police station.
As the human rights activists protested the cases against Limon, the Home Ministry on July 9, 2013 issued an order to withdraw charges against Limon in both cases lodged by RAB.
That order reached Jhalakathi district magistrate on July 16 and public prosecutor put forward the case to the court on July 21. After hearing, Kiran Sangkar Haldar, judge of the special tribunal 2, accepted the appeal and asked the authorities concerned to drop the charges against Limon.