Former finance minister Kibria murder indictment hearing deferred

Indictment hearing in former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria murder case has been deferred again after the jail authorities failed to produce all the accused in court.

Sylhet Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 July 2015, 08:27 AM
Updated : 23 July 2015, 08:28 AM

Sylhet’s Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal fixed Aug 3 as the next hearing date on Thursday, ordering jail authorities to produce all the accused on that day.

Kibria, wounded in a bomb attack on Jan 27, 2005 at Habiganj, died while being taken to Dhaka.

His nephew Shah Monjurul Huda, Awami League leaders Abdur Rahim, Abul Hossain and Siddique Ali were also killed and over 100 others were injured.

The then general secretary of the Habiganj Awami League unit, Abdul Majid Khan, filed two cases over the attacks – one over the killings and the other over use of explosives.

After three investigations, the case’s investigation officer, Sylhet's ASP Meherun Nesa Parul submitted a supplementary chargesheet on Dec 21, 2014.

She accused 35 persons including BNP chief Khaleda Zia's former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, the then Sylhet Mayor Ariful Haq Chowdhury and Habiganj Mayor GK Gaus.

File Photo

The court sent them to jail while the government temporarily removed Ariful and Gaus from the offices of mayor.

The case was forwarded to the speedy trial tribunal from the Habiganj district and sessions court on June 3.

Indictment hearing in the case was deferred twice on July 6 and 14 as all the accused were not produced before the court.

Of the 32 accused, 14 are in jail, eight are on bail and the rest are on the run.

Twenty-one of them were produced on Thursday.

Kishore Kumar Kar, the special public prosecutor, said the court had been told that former Sylhet mayor Chowdhury could not be produced due to ‘illness’.