Verdict in the Bishwajit Das murder case is set to be delivered today, a year after the activists of ruling Awami League’s student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League killed him in broad daylight in presence of law enforcers in Old Dhaka.
The prosecution sought death penalty for all the 21 accused persons as it claimed to have proved the case, said SM Rafiqul Islam, special public prosecutor of the Speedy Trial Tribunal 4.
Tribunal judge ABM Nizamul Haque set the verdict date on December 4 after hearing the prosecution and the defence arguments.
The prosecution placed 32 out of 60 witnesses including the plaintiff at the court to give deposition.
Of the 21 accused, eight who are now in jail were present in the dock yesterday. The 13 others are on the run.
Contacted yesterday, the family members of innocent Bishwajit said they were eagerly waiting for the verdict.
Uttam Kumar Das, elder brother of the victim, told the Dhaka Tribune that the accused had killed his innocent brother, “so, me and my family are waiting for a remarkable punishment of the criminals.”
Twenty-four-year-old tailor Bishwajit came under the attack near Bahadur Shah Park around 9:15am on December 9 last year while going to work at Shakhari Bazar. Few minutes back, Chhatra League activists of Jagannath University unit held a procession to protest against the opposition’s blockade and chased a pro-BNP lawyers’ procession. As two crude bombs blasted near him at that time, Bishwajit started running.
The Chhatra League men, reportedly taking Bishwajit as an opposition activist, caught him and started beating with sticks and iron rods. The cadres later hacked him with machetes for around 20 minutes. At one point, Bishwajit ran towards Shakhari Bazar and fell down on the street in front of a rickshaw. The rickshaw-puller took him to Mitford Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Several hundred people and law enforcers witnessed the incident. The newsmen from print and electronic media took footage and photos which were widely publicised.
Sub-Inspector Jalal Uddin of Sutrapur police station filed a murder case the same day. After the case proceedings had begun, a pro-BNP lawyer submitted a petition at the court to include the members of police as accused in the case for neglecting duties. The court, however, rejected the plea.
The detained Chhatra League men are Mohammad Rafiqul Islam alias Shakil, Mahfuzur Rahman Nahid, AHM Kibria, Quiyum Miah Tipu, GM Rasheduzzaman Shaon, Saiful Islam, Emdadul Haque Emdad and Golam Mostafa.
The 13 absconding accused are Rajon Talukder, Monirul Haque Pavel, Rafiqul Islam, Md Alauddin, Obaidul Quader Tahsin, Imran Hossain alias Imran, Khondoker Md Yunus Ali, Tarique Bin Zohor alias Tamal, Azizur Rahman, Noor-e-Alam Limon, Al Amin Sheikh, Mosharraf Hossain and Kamrul Hasan.
On December 23 last year, Shakil, Nahid, Shaon and Emdad gave confessional statements admitting their involvement.
Dhaka’s Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Jahurul Haque on June 2 framed the charges against the 21 accused. The court also acquitted four people who were detained by the police on suspicion.
Accused moving free
Even though the police say they could not arrest the 13 absconding accused, many of them were seen in different areas of the capital, said students of Jagannath University and several Chhatra League leaders of the campus unit.
The Dhaka Tribune investigation found traces of at least three charge-sheeted accused. Of them, Imran lives at a single-room in Doyaganj area. Kamrul was seen in Shahbagh area couple of days ago and the sources said he lived there. One of the main accused Tahsin lives at a rented house in Maghbazar Warless Gate area.
The police are yet to arrest Rajon Talukder who made the first attack on Bishwajit.
When contacted, Sanowar Hossain, additional deputy commissioner of the Detective Branch of Police, said after submission of the charge sheet in February, they had sent it to all police stations concerned to arrest the fugitives. “It is the responsibility of the local police to arrest them.”
He added that the detectives too had been trying their best to arrest the fugitives.
