Published : 03 May 2026, 08:05 PM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 03:40 PM
A Dhaka court has sentenced three people, including two policemen, to life in prison for the murder of Detective Branch (DB) informant Jalal Ahmed Shafi in 1999.
Dhaka’s Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mosaddek Minhaj delivered the verdict on Thursday, Bench Assistant Sayedur Rahman said on Sunday.
The convicts are Havildar Md Billal Hossain, Constable Md Abdur Rouf and Md Anwar Hossain, who ran the DB canteen.
They were also fined Tk 10,000 each, with another month in simple imprisonment in default, Sayedur said.
As the convicts are absconding, the court issued arrest and conviction warrants against them.
Of the five accused in the case, Detective Branch Inspector Md Ziaul Hasan died during the trial. Another accused, driver Abdul Malek, was acquitted as the charges against him were not proven.
Jalal’s body was recovered from a water tank on the roof of the Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police office on Minto Road on Mar 25, 1999.
A case was filed with Ramna Police Station against unidentified suspects the next day by then sub-inspector SM Ali Azam Siddiqui before the body had been identified.
After the identification, Jalal’s son Abbasuddin filed another case on Apr 4, 1999.
According to that case, Jalal was a microbus driver who was often called in when DB police requisitioned vehicles. This led to a close connection with the DB office.
The case says Ziaul and SI Arzu would often call him. On Mar 20, 1999, Jalal left his Lalmatia home for the DB office around 3am with his vehicle licence and cheque book.
When he did not return for several days, his family thought he had gone outside Dhaka.
Later, after some people visited the family home with Jalal’s photograph, relatives went to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and identified the body.
The case alleged that Ziaul became angry after Jalal gave another intelligence team information about a gold smuggling ring in the airport area on Mar 13, 1999.
The killing caused a major stir at the time.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted the chargesheet on Aug 9, 1999, within five months of the murder.
According to the chargesheet, Ziaul used Jalal as a source for information on illegal gold, heroin and drug smuggling around Zia International Airport (now Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport).
The accused would use Jalal’s information to detain smugglers and seize contraband, but deprived him of his share, the chargesheet said.
Charges were framed on Jul 10, 2000. The court heard testimony from 26 witnesses during the trial before delivering the verdict.
