Death references of much-talked 3 cases at HC

Staff Correspondent: The death references of three sensational cases-- college student Zakia Sultana Rupa rape and murder, Feni’s Phulgazi upazila chairman Ekramul Haque murder and Rangpur Khadem murder-- have reached the High Court (HC).

According to the HC sources concerned, the Chief Justice (CJ) will fix the benches for appeal hearing in the three much-talked cases after preparing paper books. It is HC where the fate of the accused will be fixed.

College student Rupa gang-rape and murder case:

The death reference and documents of the case of college student Zakia Sultana Rupa murder after rape reached HC on February 18.

On February 12, Abul Mansur Miah, acting judge of Tangail Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, sentenced four transport workers to death penalty and another to seven years imprisonment in the case filed for raping and killing law student Rupa Khatun in a moving bus in Tangail.

The death row convicts are bus driver Habibur, 45, and three helpers Shamim, 26, Akram, 35, and Jahangir, 19.

The supervisor of the bus, Safar Ali, 55, was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 1 lakh.

The court also ordered to hand over the seized bus of Chhoya Paribahan to Rupa's family within seven days.

Mentionable, on August 25 last year, police recovered an unidentified body of a woman near Tangail-Mymensingh road in Tangail's Madhupur upazila. Following an autopsy, the body was buried at the Tangail central graveyard the next day. A murder case was filed with Madhupur Police Station the same day.

Seeing the news in the media, Rupa's family members went to Madhupur Police Station on August 28 and identified her from photographs.

The next day, law enforcers picked up five employees of the bus at Madhupur. The arrestees during interrogation admitted their involvement in the crime.

Feni’s Ekram murder case:

The death reference and documents of Feni’s Phulgazi upazila chairman Ekramul Haque murder case arrived at the HC on March 18.

On March 13, Feni District and Sessions Judge court sentenced 39 activists of Awami League, Jubo League, and Chhatra League to death for killing Phulgazi upazila chairman Ekramul Haque.

Judge Aminul Haque of the curt delivered the verdict that acquitted 16 other accused.

Ekram, 45, also the president of Awami League upazila unit, was shot and burnt to death in his car in Feni town's Academy area on May 20, 2014.

Rangpur Khadem murder case:

The death reference of seven militants of banned outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Rangpur Khadem case reached High Court on March 29.

The Special Judge’s Court of Noresh Chandra Sarker in Rangpur sentenced seven JMB members to death penalty for killing Khadem Rahmat Ali in Kaunia upazila of the district in 2015.

The death convicts -- Masud Rana, Bijoy, Liton Mia, Ihsak Ali, Chandu Mia, Shakhwat Hossain and Sarwar Hossain-- were also fined Tk 20,000 each.

A caretaker of a shrine, Rahmat Ali, 60, of Bade Moskur village, was hacked to death in Choita intersection area of Kaunia upazila on November 10, 2015.

risingbd/Dhaka/April 29, 2018/Mahidi/A K Azad