A High Court bench consisting of Justice Abu Bakar Siddiquee and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam delivered the verdict after hearing death references and appeals of the defendants on Monday.
Five of the 26 accused were given death sentences by a Narayanganj court in 2009, while others were awarded life imprisonment.
They were charged for the murder of a 45-year-old man from Mordasadi village at Araihazar upazila in Narayanganj. Abdul Latif, the victim, was beaten and hacked to death by miscreants in the early hours of September 10, 1998.
The High Court bench rejected the death references and allowed appeals filed by the convicts.
The five death convicts who were acquitted are – MD Barek, Sohel alias Shafi, Afaz Uddin, Shawkat Ali and Omar Ali.
Omar Ali died during the trial at High Court, while the four others have been in prison from 2009. Six of the lifers have been at large after securing bails at different times.
Deputy Attorney General Md Moniruzzaman Rubel said the convicts were acquitted from the murder charges as the case against them could not be proved beyond doubt.
He said that the court found anomalies in inquest and autopsy report of the dead body. He also mentioned that the bench did not find ground to believe the statements of witnesses recorded by the trial court because of some flaws.
The state counsel, however, would move appeals against the acquittal orders with the appeals court, he added.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
