Death for 2 fugitives over youth's murder during mugging 21 years ago
The court described the convicts as habitual offenders, saying they deserved the severest punishment for the brutal killing of a young man during a mugging.
A Dhaka court today (19 July) sentenced two absconding men to death for hacking a young man to death during a mugging in the capital's Kalyanpur area 21 years ago.
The convicts are Md Sohel Rana, alias Kalu, and Md Nazim Uddin, alias Nazim or Nozu.
Judge Mosaddek Minhaz of the Dhaka Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court also fined each convict Tk50,000.
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"The court also issued arrest warrants against the two as they remain absconding," Additional Public Prosecutor Md Khalilur Rahman said.
In the judgment, the court said the convicts were professional criminals facing multiple cases under the Arms Act, Explosives Act, and narcotics laws.
It also observed that they had brutally hacked to death a young man while attempting to mug him and therefore deserved the maximum punishment.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place around 4:15am on 22 June 2005, after the victim, Shafiqul Alam, also known as Shafiq, 21, arrived at Kalyanpur bus terminal on an SR Paribahan bus from Bogura.
As he was heading to a friend's house and reached in front of Asia Cinema Hall, three men blocked his way. They threatened him with sharp weapons and tried to snatch his cash and mobile phone. During the robbery, they repeatedly hacked him with sharp weapons, leaving him critically injured.
Shafiq later died while undergoing treatment at a hospital.
His father, Md Akbar Ali, filed the murder case with Mirpur Model Police Station a day after the incident.
Police later arrested Sohel Rana, who confessed to the killing in a statement before a magistrate. He was subsequently released on bail and has remained on the run since.
Investigating officer Md Rezaul Karim, then an inspector at Mirpur Model Police Station, submitted the charge sheet against the accused on 5 April 2006.
On 23 September that year, the court framed charges and began the trial. During the proceedings, the court recorded testimonies from nine of the 14 prosecution witnesses.
