The High Court yesterday confirmed the death sentence of five former Chhatra League activists and acquitted four others in the murder case of Jahangirnagar University student Zubair Ahmed.
The five accused handed the capital punishment are Khandaker Ashiqul Islam Ashiq of philosophy department, Rashidul Islam Raju, Khan Mohammad Rais alias Shohan and Zahid Hasan of zoology and Mahabub Akram of government and politics department.
Of them, Raju is now behind bars while the others have been absconding. The trial court had also sentenced the five accused to death.
Yesterday, the HC also upheld the life term imprisonment of two convicts -- Ishtiaq Mehbub Arup of philosophy and Najmus Sakib Topu of biochemistry and molecular biology department.
The HC directed Topu, now on bail, to surrender to the lower court concerned within 30 days after receiving the copy of its judgment.
Four accused acquitted of the murder charges are Kamruzzaman Sohag of philosophy department, Abhinandon Kundu of statistics, Majharul Islam of history and Shafiul Alam Setu of statistics. The trial court had sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Zubair, a final year honours student of English department at Jahangirnagar University, was tortured and stabbed by some rival BCL activists, allegedly blessed by the then VC Prof Shariff Enamul Kabir, on January 8, 2012. He died of his injuries at a Dhaka hospital the following day.
The university authorities filed the murder case on January 9. The killing of Zubair triggered a huge outcry from in and outside the campus.
Meanwhile, the victim's family yesterday expressed frustration over the acquittal of four accused by the HC, reports our Patuakhali correspondent.
Zubair's elder brother Abdullah Al Mamun, a private university teacher, said they would file an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the HC verdict after consulting with lawyers.
A resident of Kalapara upazila in Patuakhali, Zubair's father Tofael Ahmed said, “I am not satisfied with the High Court verdict as four of the accused have been acquitted. They were involved in killing my son.”
The retired Navy member hoped he would get justice from the SC.
HIGH COURT VERDICT
The HC bench of Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam delivered the verdict after hearing the death reference and appeals of several convicts.
The court did not release the full text of its verdict yesterday.
Deputy Attorney General KM Zahid Sarwar Kazal told The Daily Star that the HC confirmed the death sentence of the five accused as the allegations of their involvement in Zubair killing were proved beyond reasonable doubt through examination of documents and evidence, investigation reports and the confessional statements of the accused.
The HC acquitted four accused on the grounds of “benefit of doubt” as there was no mention of the names of Avinondon and Setu in the confessional statement of Mahbub Akram and there is no mention of the names of Sohag and Majharul in the confessional statement of Topu, he added.
Raju, Avinondon, Sohag, Majharul, Setu and Topu filed separate appeals with the HC challenging the trial court's verdict.
Avinondon, Sohag, Majharul and Setu secured bail in the case, DAG Zahid said.
Talking to reporters at his office after the delivery of the HC verdict, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said Zubair, who was a meritorious student, was killed in a preplanned way and in cold blood which is very unfortunate.
Expressing satisfaction over the HC verdict, he said the judgment gave a message that the killers must be hanged.
On February 8, 2015, the Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 of Dhaka awarded capital punishment to five former BCL men and life term imprisonment to six others in the sensational murder case. The two other accused were acquitted.
The HC started hearing the appeals of the accused in December last year.
CONVICTS STILL ABSCONDING
“I am a free bird… Now I can fly…”
This is what Shohan, a condemned fugitive killer, wrote on his Facebook wall after reaching Malaysia.
Another fugitive Arup, who was handed life imprisonment, was seen sitting in a chair with a coffee cup on the table at a Starbucks store in Kuala Lumpur in a photo posted on Instagram on October 18, 2016.
Four accused -- Ashiq, Akram, Shohan and Arup -- sneaked out of Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 on February 23, 2014, as there were no policemen nearby. Later, they left the country.
Another accused Zahid, who was handed death sentence, is still on the run.
The Daily Star has found that the four fugitives are roaming freely in Malaysia and maintaining a good lifestyle there. The convicted killers are now hanging out together in night clubs and tourist resorts and going to the movies, according to their Facebook posts.
The newspaper contacted some of the former classmates of the killers. They confirmed that the Facebook accounts are run by the four fugitives.
