Verdict of blogger Rajib Haider’s murder case on Thursday

The verdict on the murder case of blogger and Ganajagaran Mancha activist Ahmed Rajib Haider will be delivered on Thursday, three years after the killing.

Judge Sayeed Ahmed of Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 fixed the date on Monday after the arguments in the case ended.

Haider, an architect by profession, was hacked to death on Feb 15, 2013, near his house in Dhaka’s Mirpur.

Police investigation found the involvement of religious fanatics in the murder.

The court framed charges against eight accused on Mar 18 this year.

But  on May 21 , the framing of charges was found to be faulty.

Ansarullah Bangla Team ‘chief’ Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani is among the accused.

Seven of the accused, including Rahmani, are currently behind bars.

The other six are Nafis Imtiaz, Nayeem Sikder Irad, Ehsan Reza Rumman, Faisal Bin Nayeem alias Deep, Maksudul Hassan Anik, and Sadman Yasir Mahmud.

The eighth accused – Redwanul Azad Rana - is absconding.

According to the chargesheet, Rahmani, in his Jumma prayer sermons at two mosques in Mohammadpur, issued Fatwas to kill bloggers who write against religion.

The other accused, all students of North South University, used to listen to his sermons, which was how they were influenced to plan the murder.

The chargesheet says Rahmani’s speeches and books 'encouraged' the students to kill ‘atheist bloggers’, which eventually resulted in the murder of Rajib.

Rahmani has been named the ‘instigator’ in the case.

The students, during their interrogation, spoke about his ‘inspiring’ speeches.