Cumilla: A court here today awarded life-term conviction to two people and 10-year imprisonment to six others for killing a businessman of Chauddagram upazila in 2009. The Fourth Additional District and Session Judge of Cumilla, Sabbir Mahmud Chowdhury, pronounced the judgment in a crowded courtroom here. The Judge also fined Taka 50,000 to each of the 10-year convicted persons; in default, they would have to suffer an additional six months of imprisonment.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the life-term convicts are Mehedi Hassan alias Jamshed, 21, son of late Dr. Abul Hashem of Morkota village under Sonagazi upazila of Feni district, and Shahidul Islam alias Masud alias Masum, 32, of Dakkhin Char Chandia village under the same upazila. Meanwhile, the 10-year jail convicts are Jasim Uddin Patwari, 32, and Md Alauddin alias Tota, 28, of Sonagazi upazila of Feni district; Md Jamal Hossain Manik, 31, and Md Ekramul Hauque Milon, 41, of Chauddagram upazila of Cumilla district; Ibrahim alias Baro Miah, 45, of Companyganj upazila of Noakhali district; and Md Shahbuddin, 38, of Miressarai upazila of Chattogram district.
All these accused were absent from the court during the judgment, Additional Public Prosecutor Advocate Md Iftekhar Hossain told the journalists.
The prosecution story in brief was that shoe trader Yunuf Bhuiyan Tipu, 28, was shot by a group of miscreants at about 2am on May 16 in 2009 when he went out from his house. On hearing the hue and cry of Tipu, local people rushed to the spot, rescued him, and sent him to a nearby hospital. The attending doctors of the hospital declared him dead that night.
Md Ali, father of Tipu, later filed a murder case with Chauddagram Thana. Chauddagram Thana and CID police jointly identified the criminals using information communication technology and arrested them. Four of the arrested people later gave confessional statements before the court. Police on January 1 in 2011 submitted the charge sheet of the case to the court accusing 17 people, and the court on April 18 in 2013 framed charges. The court cross-examined 16 prosecution witnesses of the case during the trial.
Three of the charge-sheeted accused died before completion of the trial of the case, and the court also acquitted six accused as the allegations against them were not undoubtedly proved during the trial.