A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced Oishee Rahman to death for killing her parents – mother Swapna Rahman and father inspector Mahfuzur Rahman of the Special Branch (SB) of Police – two years back.
Her friend Mizanur Rahman Rony was given two years of rigorous jail term for sheltering Oishee while another friend Asaduzzaman Jony was acquitted of the charges as his involvement in the murder was not proved.
The court also fined Oishee Tk40,000, in default of which she has to spend two years in jail; and Rony Tk5,000, in default of which he has to suffer one month more in jail.
Judge Sayeed Ahmed of Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal 3 pronounced the verdict at a jam packed courtroom in the presence of the three accused.
After the verdict was delivered, Oishee’s uncle Abdur Razzak, who was present at the courtroom yesterday, told this correspondent that they were not happy about the judgement.
He refused to make any further comments.
Oishee’s counsel Faruk Ahamed later told the Dhaka Tribune that they would go to the higher court to get justice.
“Oishee was a child during the incident and we hope she would be acquitted of the charges in the High Court,” he said.
Oishee, who had been brought to the court an hour before the delivery of verdict, was quiet in the dock, but as soon as the verdict was pronounced she burst into tears.
After a few minutes, police took Oishee into the prison van amid tight security.
In his observation on the case, Judge Sayeed Ahmed said Oishee had not murdered her parents in a drunken state – she had rather done it in cool brain.
The murder was planned thoroughly and that is why there was no way her age could be taken into consideration, the judge continued.
“Oishee was an adult when she killed her parents, thus there is no scope to consider her as a minor.”
The judge also said the double murder happened in a planned way taking enough time – it did not occur all of a sudden.
At first, Oishee killed her mother Swapna Rahman and then she killed her father SB inspector Mahfuzur Rahman.
Referring to defence counsels’ arguments that Oishee was in a drunken stupor and mentally imbalanced during the murder, the judge said the arguments cannot be acceptable.
The bodies of Mahfuz and his wife were found at their Chamelibagh residence in Malibagh area of the capital on August 16, 2013.
The couple lived there with their daughter Oishee, son Ohee and domestic help Khadiza Khatun Sumi.
Oishee, who had just taken her O-levels examination, surrendered to Paltan police station the following day. Later, police arrested the housemaid and Oishee’s friends Jony and Rony.
On August 24, Oishee gave a statement before Magistrate Anwar Sadat confessing her involvement in the killing.
Later, however, she told the court that she had been tortured by male policemen into giving the confessional statement.
Police’s Detective Branch Inspector Abul Khair Matubbar, who was investigating the case, submitted two charge sheets in the case on March 9, 2014 – one against Oishee and her two friends, another against housemaid Sumi.
Oishee alone killed her parents while Jony instigated the murders and Rony gave her shelter after the incident. Sumi was accused of assisting Oishee in concealing the bodies, the charge sheets said.
As Sumi is below 18 years of age, her trial is now being held in a Dhaka juvenile court.
“Oishee used to be very affectionate towards her parents as she was the couple’s first child. However, she gradually became fascinated by the outside world and enjoyed excess freedom,” said the charge sheet.
She lost her ties with the family after she had got into bad company, like Jony and Rony, the investigator said in the charge sheet.
Mahfuz’s brother Moshiur Rahman filed the case with Paltan police station.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court shifted the case to the Speedy Trial Tribunal for quick disposal as per a Home Ministry decision on November 12, 2014.
The tribunal recorded depositions of 39 out of 57 prosecution witnesses from November 30, 2014 to October 7 this year in the case.
On November 4, the tribunal fixed the verdict delivery date after concluding the closing arguments of both the prosecution and defence sides.
Expressing satisfaction over the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor Md Mahabubur Rahman said: “We are happy with the verdict.”
