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Apu Murder

2 to die, 4 get life term

Home minister's cousin among the convicts

Court Correspondent
A Dhaka court yesterday handed down death sentences to two persons and life term imprisonment to four others, including a cousin of the home minister, for murdering a private university student in 2008.
On May 23, 2008, seven to eight goons shot dead Ashikur Rahman Khan Apu and injured his two brothers Arifur Rahman Khan Setu and Atikur Rahman Khan Bappy in front of their house in the city's Wari locality.
The victims' sister Atia Khan Keya in the case statement said Iftekhar Beg alias Jhalak had hired the criminals to kill her brothers to occupy the ground floor of their Wari residence.
Monjurul Abedin Russell and Nawshad Hossain Mollah alias Robin were condemned to death while Mohammad Ali alias Munna, Mahbub Alam, Jhalak and Biplob Chandra Das were given life sentences.
Judge Shahed Nuruddin of Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 also slapped a 10-year imprisonment on the six for injuring Apu's two brothers.
The judge acquitted the
other accused in the case, Atiq Ahmed Shiplu, as the allegations against him were not proved.
The government had made several moves to withdraw the case against the seven charge-sheeted accused, citing the fact that the case was politically motivated. In the face of widespread criticism following newspaper reports on the issue, the government changed its course of action.
Of the convicts, Biblop and Mahbub are on the run. Their punishment will be effective from the day of their arrests or surrender, the court said.
Munna is said to be a cousin of Home Minister Shahara Khatun. Advocate Shahina Begum, also a cousin of Munna, told The Daily Star that his family would file an appeal with the higher court, challenging the
verdict.
The case was filed with Sutrapur Police Station the day after the incident.
According to the case statement, Jhalak had rented the ground floor of the house but had not paid the rent for sometime. When the victims' mother Tofatun Nahar asked him to vacate the house, Jhalak conceived the plan to kill her three sons.
Tofatun Nahar, who was present in court yesterday, expressed dissatisfaction over the verdict as Munna, Mahbub and Jhalak got life term imprisonment, not death sentences.
She said her two sons, who survived the attack in 2008, had identified the three as among the shooters.
Public Prosecutor Abu Abdullah Bhuiyan appeared for the state while advocates Kazi Najibullah Hiru andTM Akbar defended the accused.