Biswajit Das murder convict Yunus: I’m safe and sound

Old Dhaka tailor Biswajit Das’ convicted killer Yunus Khandkar has told his family that he is ‘safe and sound’. Family members told the Dhaka Tribune that Yunus, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2012 killing, had contacted them several times over phone but had refused to meet them. Yunus, hailing from Magura sadar upazila’s Gangnalia village, is the youngest among his seven siblings. His family members said they believed Yunus was innocent. “He did not come home once in the last three years,” his elder brother Yusuf Khandkar said. “I told him over phone that our father was sick. I asked him to meet our father once but he did not agree.” When asked what number Yunus had used to contact them, Yusuf said his brother had called using the internet. “The number does not match those of our mobile operators.” Yusuf said he knew that his brother was involved in student politics. “But he is not the kind of person to kill someone. I have seen Biswajit killing footage and in it, my brother was trying to stop the others,” he claimed. Bishwajit, 24, was hacked and beaten to death in broad daylight by Chhatra League activists in Old Dhaka on December 9, 2012, during a strike enforced by the BNP-led opposition. Law enforcers present in the area did nothing to stop the attack. The incident was caught on cameras. Twenty-one Chhatra League activists were convicted of the murder. The High Court in August this year upheld death penalty for two and commuted sentences of four others to life imprisonment. Four others were also acquitted. Eleven others, including Yunus, who are on the run, are still carrying life imprisonment sentences. Yunus’ nonagenarian father Yakub Ali, a retired water development board employee, claimed his son was not guilty. “My son will be found innocent if he contests the verdict,” he said. Magura police station’s Officer-in-Charge Ilias Hossain said they had no information about the absconding convict.