DHAKA: The High Court on Sunday (Dec 10) upheld death penalty for three men in a case filed for killing one seven-year-old kid Mustasim in Jamalpur 16 years ago. 

An HC bench comprising Justice Md Ruhul Quddus and Justice Bhismadev Chakrabarti also acquitted two other death-row convicts in the case.

The death row convicts are Tofail Ahmed Hira, Sohel Rana Shipon, Anwar Hossain. They are still at large.

The acquitted death-row convicts are Lokman Ali and Aynal Haque. 

State-appointed Lawyer Amulya Kumar Saha moved for the death-row convicts while deputy attorney general Moniruzzaman Rubel and assistant attorney general Marufa Akhter Shiuli moved for the state in court.

Also, lawyer Fazlul Huq Khan and Shafiquzzaman moved for the convicts in court.

According to case statements, Mustasim Billah, son of the then US expatriate Lutfur Rahman, resident of Amlapara area of Jamalpur town, was fidnapped from home by his cousin brother Tofail Ahmed Hira on May 31 in 2001. Later the convicts suffocated him to death using a pillow and buried the body in the floor of an under construction building.

Later police detained Hira and quizzed him. As per his statement, police recovered the body 79 days after the abduction. Victim’s uncle Ashraf Hossain filed two cases of kidnapping and murder with Jamalpur police station accusing six people.        

On Jan 18 in 2015, A Jamalpur court awarded death sentence to five people in the case. 

The HC upheld death for three and acquitted two others after hearing the death reference and appeals in the case.

BDST: 1745 HRS, DEC 10, 2017
AP/SMS