Four years after the trial court's delivery of judgment, hearing of appeals and death references against the verdict in the 1975 Jail Killing Case began in the High Court (HC) yesterday.
On the first day of the hearing, barrister Abdullah-al Mamun, counsel for the convicts, read out the paper book in the case before the HC bench comprising Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan.
At the end of the day's proceedings, the court fixed July 14, today, for the next hearing of appeals.
Acting president of the Bangladesh government-in-exile Syed Nazrul Islam, prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed, finance minister M Mansur Ali, and minister of home affairs, relief and rehabilitation AHM Qamaruzzaman, were killed inside Dhaka Central Jail on November 3 of 1975.
Then Metropolitan Sessions judge of Dhaka Court Mohammad Motiur Rahman delivered the verdict in the case on October 20 of 2004, sentencing three people to death, awarding life imprisonment to 12 others and acquitting five in the case.
The court sentenced to death Resalder (retd) Muslemuddin, Dafadar (dismissed) Marfat Ali Shah and Dafadar (dismissed) Abdul Hashem Mridha, all absconding, as the charges against them “were proved beyond doubt.”
Those awarded life imprisonment are Lt Col (dismissed) Syed Faruk Rahman, Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Maj (retd) Bazlul Huda, Lt Col (dismissed) Khondaker Abdur Rashid, Lt Col (relieved) Shariful Haq Dalim, Lt Col (retd) SHMB Noor Chowdhury, Maj (Retd) AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Lt Col (retd) AM Rashed Chowdhury, Major (relieved) Ahmed Sharful Hossain, Capt (retd) Abdul Majed, Captain (relieved) Kismat Hasem, Captain (relieved) Nazmul Hossain for abetting the murderers.
Three of the 12 awarded life terms in jail -- Lt Col (dismissed) Syed Faruk Rahman, Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan and Maj (retd) Bazlul Huda -- were sentenced to death in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case. They are in Dhaka Central Jail custody now.
The five relieved of charges in the case are KM Obaidur Rahman, Shah Moazzem Hossain, Nurul Islam Monzoor, Taheruddin Thakur and Khairuzzaman.