DHAKA: The High Court has upheld the death sentences of the five convicts for killing student of Jahangirnagar University (JU) Zubair Ahmed in 2012.

The HC bench of Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam delivered the verdict on Wednesday (January 24) upon the death references and appeals in the sensational murder case.

The five convicts are- Khandaker Ashikul Islam Ashik, Khan Mohammad Rois alias Sohan and Zahid Hasan of Zoology Department of the university, Rashedul Islam Razu of Philosophy Department, and Mahbub Akram of Government & Politics Department. Among them, Rashedul Islam Razu is on the run.

All the convicts were the activists of the Jahangirnagar University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the ruling Awami League. Victim Zubair was also an activist of the student organization.  

The High Court, however, upheld lifer term imprisonment of two other convicts, and exempted four others from the charges.

The two lifers are- Ishtiak Mehbub Arup and Nazmus Sakib Topu. Among them, Arup is on the run.

The four others are- Kamruzzaman Sohag of Zoology Department, Mazharul Islam, Shafiul Alam Setu and Kundu Ovi of Statistics Department.  

Deputy Attorney General Jahid Sarwar Kajol and Assistant Attorney General Nirmol Kumar Das represented for the state in the court, while Abdul Matin Khasru, SM Abul Hossain, Khairul Alam, Fahima Rabbi and Rana Kausar moved for the convicts.

The state, however, had appointed lawyer Shafiqul Islam to move for the accused who are on the run.

Zubair Ahmed, the final year student of the English Department of the university, was tortured and stabbed by some BCL activists on the campus on January 8 in 2012. He succumbed to injuries in a Dhaka hospital the following day.

Zubair was son of Tofail Ahmed of Madinabagna Balapara area under Kalapara upazila in Patuakhali.

Following the murder, a student-teacher movement had led to the resignation of the then JU vice-chancellor Prof Sharif Enamul Kabir.

On January 09, the-then deputy register of the university Hamidur Rahman filed a case with Ashulia Police Station accusing Khandaker Ashikul Islam Ashik, Rashedul Islam Razu and Khan Mohammad Rois and 10-12 unnamed people.

Investigation Officer (IO) of the case Meer Shahin Shah Parvez submitted charge sheet against 13 students of the university’s 37th batch on April 8 in 2012.

The case was transferred to Dhaka’s Fourth Speedy Trial Tribunal on August 13 that year after it had reached indictment stage.

On February 8 in 2015, a tribunal sentenced the five JU students to death and six others to life term imprisonment in the murder case.

The speedy tribunal in its judgement had said that the verdict was exemplary, asserting that it was the first time when capital punishment was given to anyone over any murder committed on the campus of a public university.

Delivering the verdict, Judge ABM Nizamul Haque had said that Zubair murder was the ultimate result of unethical activities by student organizations at public universities.

Later, the convicts filed separate appeals with the High Court challenging the trail court’s verdict. On the other hand, the death references automatically reached the High Court.

The HC started hearing on the death references and the appeals on January 2 in 2018. The hearing ended on January 9 and the High Court fixed January 23 for delivering its verdict.

But the verdict got delayed a day as Justice Mustafa was on the leave.

BDST: 1545 HRS, JAN 24, 2018
EHJ