2 sentenced to death for Tejgaon College student murder in 2023
In addition to the capital punishment, the court sentenced both to seven years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 201/34 of the Penal Code for concealing the body, essentially hiding evidence.
A Dhaka court today (22 February) sentenced two men to death for the murder of Tejgaon College student Ikram Hossain Molla, which occurred nearly three years ago in the capital's Khilkhet area.
The death row convicts are Md Siddique and Md Shanto Mia. Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz pronounced the verdict.
In addition to the capital punishment, the court sentenced both to seven years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 201/34 of the Penal Code for concealing the body, essentially hiding evidence.
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They were also fined Tk50,000 each, in default of which they must serve an additional three months of simple imprisonment.
According to the court's bench assistant, Md Riaz Hossain, Siddique was produced in court from jail to hear the verdict, while Shanto Mia remains at large. The court issued an arrest warrant against the fugitive convict.
The victim, Ikram, 22, a first-year student, went missing on the night of 4 May 2023. After his family filed a general diary, police recovered his body two days later from a ditch in the Bashundhara Balur Char area.
The body was found covered with water hyacinths, with just a hand visible.
Investigations revealed a gruesome murder fuelled by financial and personal enmity. Tensions escalated when Ikram demanded his money back from Shanto. Simultaneously, Siddique reportedly bore a grudge against Ikram regarding personal issues.
The duo lured Ikram to the Dumni area on the night of the disappearance.
After a brief quarrel, they bludgeoned him with a hammer and stabbed him indiscriminately, even gouging his face, chest and other parts of the body and defacing the body to prevent identification.
The investigation officer, then-Khilkhet Police Inspector Enamul Haque Khondaker, filed the charge sheet on 26 November 2023, and the court framed charges on 29 February 2024. During the trial, the court recorded the testimonies of 17 witnesses out of 27.
