The family members of an English medium student Himadri Majumdar Himu, who was killed allegedly by his friends in the port city in 2012, expressed their frustration over not getting justice as yet, since the hearing on charge framing in the case was being deferred repeatedly.
The court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge SM Mujibur Rahman yesterday deferred the hearing on charges in the gruesome murder case for the third time, said Md Fuad, bench assistant of the court.
The court fixed January 27 for hearing the charges. The date was twice deferred, first on November 17 and then on November 28 in 2013.
Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Chittagong metropolitan public prosecutor, said the first charge hearing date was deferred as the prosecution sought time while the second date was deferred because of blockades.
He added that he failed to appear before the court yesterday as he had been out of Chittagong.
The case was shifted from the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court to Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court at the beginning of this November while the charge sheet of the case was submitted before the court on September 30, 2012.
Himu, 18, an A level student of Summerfield School and College, was pushed off the roof of a four-storied building in Panchlaish residential area on April 27, 2012 by his friends who let ferocious German Doberman dogs loose on him.
He succumbed to his injuries 26 days later in Dhaka.
Asit Das, maternal uncle of the deceased, lodged a case with Panchlaish police station, accusing Shah Selim Tipu, his son Junaid Ahmed Riad, Riad’s friends Shahadat Hossain Saju, Mahbub Ali Khan Danny and Zahidul Islam Shaon.
Tipu, Riad and Shaju are on bail from the High Court while Danny and Shaon are on the run since the incident.
Himu’s father Prabir Kumar Majumdar told the Dhaka Tribune they were concerned about the constant delays as the trial was yet to be started even 20 months after the incident.
“Repeated deferrals of charge framing hearing because of the absence of public prosecutor have vexed us,” said Himu’s father.
Prabir alleged that the accused Tipu and his son, who were on bail, had been trying to influence the trial.
“I just want proper justice in time which will help rest the soul of my son in peace,” he added.
Admitting the repeated deferrals of charge hearing, Public Prosecutor Kamal said hopefully the charges against the accused would be framed within a short time.