Witnesses begin testifying against MP son Rony over double murders

A court has begun hearing testimonies by witnesses against Bakhtiar Alam Rony, the son of Awami League MP Pinu Khan, in the case over double murders at Dhaka’s Eskaton.

Court Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 May 2016, 04:57 PM
Updated : 26 May 2016, 07:32 PM

Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions judge Samsun Nahar recorded the depositions of two witnesses on Thursday and said she will hear those of others on Jun 28.

The two witnesses who have testified are Monwara Begum and Salma Begum, mother and wife to the victims, rickshaw-puller Abdul Hakim and auto-rickshaw driver Yakub Ali, respectively.

The deposition of witnesses had earlier been deferred twice.

Ali and Hakim died of bullet wounds sustained in an indiscriminate firing in the early hours of Apr 14 last year.

Rony has been accused of shooting from his gun, under the ‘influence of drugs’, from a car he was in.

The vehicle was registered in his mother’s name, who is also the general secretary of the Mohila Awami League, the ruling party's women front.

Monwara Begum on Apr 15 filed the murder case against some unidentified people.

Police arrested Rony on May 31 last year. On Jul 21, they formally charged him in court as the sole accused.

Two of Rony’s friends and his driver, Imran Fakir, who were in the SUV at the time of the shooting, had testified against him in court.

A ballistic test had also found that bullets from Rony’s licensed pistol had killed Ali and Hakim.

But Rony had claimed he was innocent.

Fakir was arrested along with him, but his name was dropped from the chargesheet after he testified against Rony.

The State has named 37 people as witnesses in the case.