Indictment hearing in Abrar murder case deferred to Mar 18

A Dhaka court has set Mar 18 to hold a hearing on the indictment of the 25 suspects in the murder of BUET student Abrar Fahad.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Kayes reset the hearing date on Monday as the court has yet to decide on the bail pleas filed by several suspects, said Additional Public Prosecutor Tapas Kumar Pal.

Meanwhile, Abrar’s father Barkatullah was expected to submit an application to the home minister on Monday for transferring the case to a speedy trial tribunal in Dhaka for quick disposal.

“According to the rules, the application will seek approval from the Home Ministry’s Law Division at first. The case will be transferred to a speedy trial tribunal after the ministry issues a gazette notification on the matter. I helped Abrar’s father prepare the application,” Abdullah Abu, chief prosecutor of Dhaka Metropolitan Judge’s Court, told bdnews24.com.

Earlier on Jan 12, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Kaisarul Islam ordered transferring the case to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court. The hearing date for framing charges in the case was deferred twice since then.

Abrar, a second-year student of electrical and electronic engineering, was found dead in the stairway of his dormitory in the early hours of Oct 6.

He was allegedly bludgeoned to death by members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League’s BUET unit for a post he made to Facebook criticising the government for a deal it made with India.

Abrar's father Barkatullah started a case with the capital's Chawkbazar police against 19 people. Police later arrested 22 people, including 16 named in the case.

Detective Inspector Wahiduzzaman submitted the charges to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court against 25 suspects on Nov 13 after five weeks of investigation.