Munshiganj (South) Correspondent

In the murder case of Abul Kashem from Gazaria in Munshiganj, 10 accused have been sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor. The court also imposed a fine of Tk 10,000 on each convict; in default, they will have to serve an additional 4 months of simple imprisonment.

 The verdict was announced at  1:00 PM on Tuesday by Dr. Md. Alamgir, Judge of the Additional District and Sessions Judge’s Court.  The matter was confirmed by the court's bench assistant Md. Ali Haidar.

The convicts are: Nasir Ullah alias Nasir, son of Nuru Mia; Mosharraf Hossain, son of Nurul Mia; Ripon, son of Helal Uddin; Abdur Razzak alias Kana Razzak, son of late Monu Mia; Akkas Ali, son of late Khalilur Rahman; Ripon, son of Siraj Member; Shah Alam, son of Alek Jan; Shafik, son of Md. Khorshed; and Shafiqul alias Shafik, son of Haque Mia — all from Char Baushia village in Gazaria upazila.

At the time of the verdict, convicts Alam, Razzak, Delwar, Habi, Mosharraf, Ripon, and Shafik were present in court and were ordered to be sent to jail. Arrest warrants were issued against the absconding convicts. Although there were 15 accused in the case, 5 of them were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

According to court and case sources, on the night of June 7, 2002, several people, including a woman named Shanti Begum, came to the plaintiff's house in Char Baushia village and called them outside. When the door was opened, Shanti Begum informed them that the body of the plaintiff’s father, Abul Kashem, was lying in a paddy field near the house of a man named Judge Mia. Upon reaching the scene with family members, the plaintiff found his father’s body with deep wounds on the head caused by sharp weapons, and blood was oozing from his nose and mouth.

The following day, Shanti Begum, Judge Mia, and Zainal were named as accused in the murder case filed with Gazaria Police Station by the victim’s family. Based on suspicion, police arrested Mosharraf, Abdur Razzak, Shah Alam, and Shafiqul, who later gave confessional statements in court admitting their involvement in the murder.

Following their confessions, police managed to arrest the remaining suspects. After 23 years of legal proceedings and testimonies from 17 witnesses, the court found 10 of the accused guilty and delivered the verdict accordingly.

PP Adv  Arif Hossain said, the long-pending and sensational Abul Kashem murder case in Gazaria has finally reached a verdict after 23 years. The court has sentenced 10 of the 15 accused to life imprisonment and fined them Tk 10,000 each. The remaining 5 were acquitted due to lack of evidence. We, the prosecution, are satisfied with the verdict.”