The verdict in the murder case of Abrar Fahad, a student of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology or BUET, is likely to be announced within the next month after prolonged delays due to different issues.
State lawyer in the case Abu Abdullah Bhuiyan expressed the hope as Wednesday marks two years since the murder of the BUET student, reports bdnews24.com.
“If everything goes according to plan, the verdict in the case will be delivered by the first week of November. We will get the desired judgement. The victim’s family will receive justice,” state attorney Abu Abdullah Bhuiyan said.
The verdict was repeatedly delayed due to the long pandemic break and other incidents such as the reframing of charges, the defendants’ lack of confidence in the judge and the judge contracting COVID-19.
The state is still presenting arguments in the case, which will be ready for a verdict once the accused is done presenting their arguments.
Md Barkat Ullah, the father of the slain Abrar, told said: “We want a swift end to this case. Much time has passed. We expect capital punishment for the accused.”
Abrar, a student of electrical and electronic engineering at BUET, was tortured to death by a group of activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League at its Sher-e-Bangla Hall in October 2019 after he criticised the government over a water-sharing deal with India on Facebook.
His father started a case against 19 students with Chawkbazar police the next day.
The case dossier offered harrowing accounts of how Abrar was clobbered with cricket stumps and skipping ropes for hours before his eventual death on Oct 6.
The BCL activists later dropped Abrar's body from a staircase of Sher-e-Bangla Hall before doctors pronounced him dead in the morning.
Most of the accused were members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League’s BUET unit. They were expelled after the incident, following which BUET banned organisational political activities on the campus amid student protests.
Police arrested 21 people for the killing. Another suspect later turned himself in court. Three suspects are currently on the run.
Detective Inspector Wahiduzzaman submitted the charges to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court against 25 suspects on Nov 13 after five weeks of investigation.
Dhaka Speedy Tribunal-1 Judge Abu Zafar Md Kamruzzaman framed the charges against all accused and issued the trial order in September 2020.
The latest hearing in the case was scheduled for Sept 20 but was deferred to Oct 20 as the judge tested positive for coronavirus.
“The court was shut twice due to the pandemic, causing some delay in the case proceedings. Arguments are being presented in the case now. But the judge was diagnosed with COVID-19 at one point, causing further delay,” Advocate Abu Abdullah said.
“The next hearing is set for Oct 20. The state and the accused will present their arguments that day.”
In September, the 22 people behind bars pleaded not guilty after 46 people testified against them.
Aminul Gani Tito, the lawyer of three of the accused – Muntassir Alam Jemmy, Ifti Mosharraf Sakal, and Mehedi Hasan Robin - said, “We previously expressed a lack of confidence in the judge and petitioned to transfer the case to another court. But the High Court ignored the plea.”