Four sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in Dhaka

A Dhaka court has sentenced four people to life imprisonment for the murder of Md Wahiduzzaman, a part-time worker for the international volunteer organisation ‘The Hunger Project Bangladesh’ six years ago.

Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 Judge Monir Kamal on Wednesday announced the verdict against them while exonerating the main accused in the case.

The hearing was conducted in the absence of the acquitted Mahiuddin Darji, an expatriate living in Italy, who was shown as absconding.

The convicts in the case are Lenin Bepari from Kalkini, Shahabuddin Darji, Faisal Amed and Rezaul Bepari from Kukrail. 

They were also fined Tk 20,000 each with an additional two months’ jail sentence for failure to pay it.

Of the four, Rezaul is absconding while the others were at the dock when the judgment was passed.

According to the case dossier, Wahiduzzaman’s body was recovered from a corn field in Shahpara village of Chardighalia Kashimpur at Shingair, Manikganj on Mar 8, 2013.

Wahiduzzaman, 28, was the son of freedom fighter Md Mozammel Hossain Matbar and a law student. He used to work part-time in the volunteer-based international development organisation The Hunger Project.

Shingair Police Sub-Inspector Abdus Salam filed a case against a few unidentified individuals over the incident.

On Nov 22, 2014, Inspector Madan Mohan Banik of the Detective Branch of Police in Manikganj, submitted a charge sheet against six people following an investigation.

Among the accused, Lenin, Shahabuddin and Selim confessed to the crime after being arrested. Selim’s name was dropped from the case following his death. 

Wahid had paid Tk 1 million to accused Mahiuddin through Rezaul to travel to Italy, the charge sheet said. But a conflict ensued when he demanded his money back after failing to get to the European country.

Shahabuddin, Lenin and Selim called Wahid to Savar on the pretext of returning his money. The plot was masterminded by Mohiuddin and Rezaul, according to the case.

Lenin, Shahabuddin, Selim and Faisal strangled Wahid to death when he went to Savar, the charge sheet said. 

The case was shifted to the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal from Manikganj and the verdict was announced on Wednesday following the testimonies of 22 witnesses.

Discontented by the acquittal of Mohiuddin, Wahid’s uncle Sheikh Md Habibul Haque said, “We’ve heard that the verdict was influenced by an illicit payment. We’re not satisfied with the verdict.”

“We’ll determine whether to appeal after reading the copy of the verdict,” Special Public Prosecutor Md Mahbubur Rahman told bdnews24.com.