4 more people testify in Kibria murder case

A Sylhet court on Wednesday recorded testimonies of four witnesses in the case filed over the brutal murder of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria.

Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal Judge Shahriar Kabir recorded the deposition of the witnesses.

Sarwar Ahmed Chowdhury Abdal, special public prosecutor of the Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal, said: “Out of 171 witnesses in the case, only 47 have testified so far.”

On January 27, 2005, five leaders and activists, including Kibria and his nephew Manjurul Huda, were killed in a grenade attack on a rally held at Baidyer Bazar in Sadar upazila of Habiganj.

Around 70 people including Habiganj 3 MP Md Abu Zahir were injured. 

That night, the then organizing secretary of the district Awami League and incumbent Habiganj 2 MP Advocate Abdul Majid Khan filed a case with the Habiganj Sadar police station. 

However, the trial of the case is still not completed in 16 years.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police investigated the case three times for 10 years.

On November 12, 2014, Senior ASP Meherun Nesa Parul filed a charge sheet against 32 people.

On September 13, 2015, Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal framed charges against the accused in the case.

Sarwar Ahmed Chowdhury Abdal said the main accused in the case were also charged with carrying out terrorist attacks across the country.

“They have to be transferred from one jail to another to appear in different courts of the country. Therefore, it is not always possible to produce the accused before the court on the due date of the case. This is why the trial of the case is being delayed.”

Three of the accused in the case have already been executed in other cases.  They are - Mufti Abdul Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam and Delowar Hossain Ripon.

Meanwhile, Begum Khaleda Zia's political secretary Harris Chowdhury and nine others are still on the run.

The other accused in the case, including Sylhet City Corporation Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury and former Habiganj Municipality mayor GK Gaus are out on bail.