Dhaka, May 24 (BDNEWS) – A court in Dhaka Wednesday awarded death sentence to 10 including Kala Jahangir, life sentence to six and acquitted two others in the sensational ward commissioner Newton murder case.
Newton was a Jubo Dal leader and ward commissioner of Mirpur 8 who was shot dead on May 10, 2000 just before he was getting into his car for home from a salon at Orchid plaza.
Judge of the speedy trial tribunal no-1 Shahed Nur Uddin pronounced the verdict at a heavily crowded courtroom where family members of the assassinated Jubo Dal leader were also present.
As the verdict was read out the murdered Jubo Dal leader's wife Dipty and mother Rabeya Khatun expressed satisfaction, they said ''the verdict if executed will lessen part of our grief'.
The convicts to walk the gallows are killer Abbas, Kala Jahangir, Pial, Khorshed, Shahadat, Sagar, Kiron, Ibrahim, Jakir and Kazi Ismail.
Except killer Abbas all the death sentence awardees remain on the run.
Boltu Russell, Benga Babu, Rubel, Aiyub, Shawkat and Kamal were sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. Of them Kamal is absconding.
From the charge sheeted accused Raqib and Ripon were acquitted.
Meanwhile, the life sentence awardees have to pay Tk 5,000 fine and in default to suffer one more year of rigorous imprisonment (RI).
According to the prosecution, after the killing Rabeya Khatun as plaintiff filed a case with the local thana and said in her petition that Ali and Kazi Ismail accompanied Newton at the time. Ismail, the death sentence awardee in his confessional statement under section 164 disclosed the names of other collaborators.
Some 16 persons gave deposition in the case.
Special PP advocate Abdul Latif stood for the state while advocate Mizanur Rahman, Altaf Hossain and AKM Sohrab moved the case for the defendants.
BDNEWS/1728 hrs
