The Jessore Special Judge Court has sentenced a stepfather and his associate to death for the murder of child Imran in Jessore.
Justice Mohammad Faruk Hossain passed the verdict at 12pm Wednesday.
Sobedul, the stepfather of Imran, and his close associate Abdul Hakim were fined Tk20,000 and sentenced to death in a long trial that started in 2001.
The other two associates Idris Ali and Iqbal Hossain were acquitted by the bench.
Public Prosecutor SM Badruzzaman said: "Sobedul could not accept Imran who was his wife Kohinoor's child from her previous marriage. He used to threaten Kohinoor to kill Imran more than once. Kohinoor divorced him thinking about her son's safety."
He continued: "On 24 April, 2001, Sobedul and his three associates abducted Imran, who was 12 years old at the time. His family filed a missing complaint later at night. Afterwards, Abdul, one of the associates, confessed to their crime when police interrogated him about Imran."
Police recovered Imran's body beside a local store. He was strangled to death, said Badruzzaman citing the autopsy report. The next day, Imran's grandfather Hayat Ali Mollick had filed a murder case accusing Sobedul, Abdul Hakim, Idris Ali and Iqbal Hossain.
