A Dhaka court Sunday framed charges against 13 leaders and activists of Jahangirnagar University unit Bangladesh Chhatra League for killing a batch mate, Zubair Ahmed, last year.
Judge ABM Nizamul Haque of the Speedy Trial Tribunal 4 read out charges in front of the accused and set September 12 for hearing prosecution witness.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty and demanded justice.
Meanwhile, the court turned down the discharge petitions filed by the defence lawyers in favour of six accused.
The court indicted the accused after scrutinising the case diary and relevant documents of the case.
Seven of the accused Khandaker Ashikul Islam, Khan Md Rois and Md Zahid Hasan of zoology department; Md Rashedul Islam Raju and Ishtiak Mehbub Arup of philosophy; Mahbub Akram of government and politics; and Nazmus Sakib Tanu of biochemistry and molecular biology department were expelled from the university for life on January 30 last year following a preliminary investigation.
The six others Md Mazharul Islam and Md Mahmudul Hasan Masud of history department; Md Kamruzzaman Shohag of philosophy; Shafiul Alam Shetu and Abhinandan Kundu of statistics; and Md Nazmul Hussain Plabon of the public administration department were suspended for two years following the murder last year.
Two of the accused Raju and Rois made confessional statements before magistrate. All the accused are 37th batch (final year) students of the university.
Victim’s brother Abdullah-Al-Mamun told to the Dhaka Tribune: ‘’The charge framing process should have been completed much earlier. But the accused are trying to delay the trial process. We want justice to this killing.’’
According to the case statement, final year student Zubair Ahmed of English department was beaten and stabbed indiscriminately on the campus by activists of a rival faction of Chhatra League, the ruling Awami League’s students’ wing, on January 8.
They later took him to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar and left him there with severe injuries. He died at a private hospital in the capital the next morning.
Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue sources said the victim had injury marks all over his body and died of internal bleeding.
Deputy Registrar Hamidur Rahman filed a murder case with Ashulia police station following the incident.
At a meeting on January 30, the university syndicate expelled seven of the accused and suspended the others for two years, as their direct involvement in the killing was proved in the preliminary investigation conducted by the administration.
On April 8 last year, the then sub-inspector and also investigation officer of the case, Mir Shaheen Shah Parvez submitted the charge sheet accusing 13 students. The IO also named 37 witnesses, comprising four teachers and 33 university security guards.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Md Ismail Hossain sent the case record to Dhaka District and Session’s Judges Court for trial. On March 12, District and Session’s Judge Abdul Mazid took the charge sheet into cognisance.
The case transferred to the Speedy Trial Tribunal 4 on August 18. According to provision, cases under the tribunal have to be settled within 135 working days. But a judge can extend the time citing proper reasons.