N’GANJ SEVEN-MURDER CASE Deaths for Tarek Sayeed, Noor Hossain, 13 others upheld

The High Court Division on Tuesday upheld death sentences of local Awami League leader Noor Hossain and the Rapid Action Battalion’s 14 men for brutally murdering seven people in Narayanganj in April 2014.
It, however, reduced death sentences of two RAB men and Noor’s nine associates to life-terms and upheld various sentences of nine other RAB personnel. 
It took the bench of Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam five hours, 30 minutes beyond the court hour, to deliver the verdict in a packed courtroom amid tight security. 
Deaths were confirmed for the then commanding officer of RAB in Narayanganj Lieutenant Colonel Tarek Sayeed Mohammad and RAB officers, Major Arif Hossain and Lieutenant Commander MM Masud 
Rana, Lance Naik Md Belal Hossain, Habildar Md Emdadul Haque, Navy ROG-1 Md Arif Hossain, Lance Naik Md Hira Miah, Sepoy Abu Taiyb, Constable Md Shihabuddin, police sub-inspector Purnendubala, Sainik Md Abdul Alim, Sainik Mohiuddin Munshi, Sainik Al Amin Sharif, and Sainik Md Tajul Islam. 
Among them, Tajul, Al Amin and Mohiuddin are absconding.
Later, Nazrul’s widow Selina Islam told New Age that she felt happy with the High Court’s decision though she thought that all the 26 perpetrators deserved death sentence. 
Death sentences were reduced to life-terms for Sainik Md Asaduzzaman Noor, Sargent Enamul Kabir and Noor’s associates Md Mortuza Zaman Charchil, Ali Mohammad, Md Mizanur Rahman Dipu, Md Raham Ali, Md Adul Basar, Salim, Md Sanaullah, Sajahan and Jamaluddin and fines were imposed of them requiring each to deposit Tk 20,000 in default serve two more years of jail term.
Death sentences of Noor Hossain, Tarek, Arif and Ranna were upheld on two counts of murder and conspiracy to murders. 
Tarek is son-in-law of Awami League leader and disaster management minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya. 
In the observations the court said that the convicted RAB officers committed the crimes on individual responsibility and in their own interest. 
The conducts of Tarek, Arif and Rana and their meetings among themselves just prior to committing the seven murders and Arif’s visit to the office of Noor Hossain proved their offence of conspiracy to the murders.
The repeated talks of Noor Hossain, and three RAB officers over mobile phones and exchange of SMS among themselves during and after the incident also proved their conspiracy to kill the seven victims after abducting them and later dumping their bodies into the Sitalakkhaya River on April 24, 2014.
It is evident that the murders were committed as sequels to previous enmity between Nazrul Islam, the victim and the murder master mind Noor Hossain, the bench said in its observations.
The three RAB officers led the abductions and committed the murders and dumped the victims’ bodies in the river in exchange of money from Noor Hossain, it said in the observations.
After abduction from Narayanganj, all the seven persons were taken to RAB office at Narsingdi and murdered on way to the Katchpur Bridge beneath which the victims stomachs were slashed to ensure that they would not resurface after dumping in sacks filled with bricks.
The victims were murdered inside two microbuses by making them senseless by injecting anesthesia and later they were strangled using poly bags all of which took place on way to the landing ghat for the vessels.
From Kachpur victims’ bodies were taken by a trawler and dumped where the Meghna River meets the Sitalakkhya at Munshiganj.
Three days later, on April 30, 2014, victims’ bodies were found afloat in the Shitalakhya River at Narayanganj.
On January 16, a trial court in Narayanganj handed death sentence to all the 26 perpetrators.
The victims were local AL leader and Narayangaj City Corporation councilor Nazrul Islam, the principal target, Nazrul’s four associates, lawyer Chandan Sarker and his driver

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net