A court has sentenced 20 people from the banned extremist group, Sarbahara Party, to life in prison for killing a Special Branch police officer and an office assistant in Madaripur 13 years ago.
Judge Md Monir Kamal of the Dhaka speedy tribunal-3 announced the verdict on Wednesday.
Six of the 26 accused have been acquitted in the verdict.
Reflecting on his verdict, the judge said, "Police play a role in establishing a welfare state by controlling the wicked. They provide emergency services and create a bridge between the state and the people. But these wayward terrorists have killed the members of the police. To ensure justice, I have made the decision.”
Special Branch SI Hasnain Azam Khan and Md Kamrul Alam Khan, an office assistant, were stopped by the members of the Sarbahara gang, according to case details filed in 2005. They were riding a motorcycle.
Later they were killed and their bodies cut into pieces. The pieces were then floated off into the Kumar river, reports bdnews24.
The then Madaripur District Police Special Branch Inspector Abul Khayer Mia filed a case with Rajoir Police Station after both Azam Khan and Kamrul Alam failed to show up for two consecutive days in the office and could not be contacted.
Four officers, in phases, investigated the case.
After two years of investigation, a charge-sheet was filed with a Madaripur court against 32 of the 38 accused. Six of the accused had already died by then.
Four among the 32 accused were killed at different times in ‘alleged’ gunfights with the police. Moreover, two more named in the chargesheet had died because of illness.
Of the 26 who faced the trial, 13 are absconding and 12 secured bail from the High Court. Only one is in prison.
During the trial, the judge heard the testimonies of 36 people for the state.
The tribunal's special prosecutor Mahbubur Rahman told bdnews24 that the documents of the case were transferred to a speedy tribunal in Dhaka from Madaripur court in 2008.
