The new judge of the Dhaka court dealing with the Maj Gen Manzoor murder case yesterday – the day it was scheduled to deliver verdict – set February 27 to start re-hearing arguments.
Khondokar Hasan Md Firoz, the new first additional district and sessions judge of Dhaka, passed the order yesterday.
Judge Firoj said as he was new to the court and since the case was an old and sensational one, he had to hear afresh the arguments from both defence and prosecution before proceeding.
The court also called for the deposition of Maj Emdadul, one of the accused in the case, under the provision of self-defence.
On January 22, Firoj’s predecessor Hosne Ara Akhtar, who was transferred to another court on January 29, fixed February 10 (yesterday), for delivering verdict.
Hosne Ara’s transfer gave rise to speculations surrounding whether the verdict in the case would be delivered on the due date or not.
One of the main accused in the case – filed nearly 19 years ago in connection with the 32-year old murder – is former military dictator and Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad, who has recently been appointed special envoy to the prime minister.
Even Ershad’s counsel said the transfer of the judge just before verdict date was “abnormal.”
A court official said Hosne Ara Akhtar, along with seven other judges, were reshuffled to speed up court proceedings, not to delay the verdict.
When Maj Gen Manzoor was killed in 1981, Ershad was the chief of army staff who took over state power through a military coup a few days later.
Manzoor’s brother Abul Mansoor Ahmed filed the murder case with the Panchlaish police station in Chittagong in 1995.
Apart from Ershad, four other discharged and retired army officers feature in the list of the accused.
