A tribunal in Dhaka has sentenced four people to death and nine others to life in prison for killing a school teacher following a dispute over union parishad elections in Shariatpur.
Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 Judge Monir Kamal announced the verdict in the 11-year-old case on Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.
The convicts who have received the death sentence are - Nuruzzaman Khan, Zahangir Matbar, Zulhas Matbar and Chan Mia. They have also been fined Tk 20,000 each.
“The murder took place due to a political dispute. The criminals cannot get mercy for such a heinous act. They need to be given the harshest punishment,” the verdict read.
The court handed life prison sentences to Abdul Halim Molla, former chairman of the Chikandi Union Parishad, Azizul Matbar, Farukh Khan, Azahar Matbar, Mizan Mir, Aktar Gazi, Jalil Matbar, Emdad Matbar and Lal Mia.
They have also been fined Tk 20,000 each and will have to spend an additional six months behind bars if they fail to pay.
Five suspects, Azibar Bali, Abdul Khandakar, Khokan Bepari, Azhar Molla and Sorab Molla, have been acquitted of charges.
But Azibar Ali, one of those acquitted, is the ‘mastermind’ of Samad Master’s murder, the victim’s wife Ferdousi Azad said.
“Abdus Samad was the headmaster of Chikandi Saraf Ali High School in Shariatpur Sadar Upazila. He ran for chairman of the Chikandi Union Parishad, but lost to Halim Molla in the polls by a narrow margin,” public prosecutor Mahbubur Rahman said.