Bakhtiar Alam Rony, son of former Awami League MP Pinu Khan, has been sentenced to life in prison for a double murder in Eskaton in 2015.
Dhaka Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Monjurul Imam announced the verdict on Wednesday.
He is being given life sentence instead of the death penalty in consideration of his mental and physical condition, the judge said, reports bdnews24.com.
“It has been proven during trial that Rony was intoxicated when he fired the shots.
“His crime has been proven under Section 302, but he is being sentenced with life imprisonment instead of death considering the state of his physical and mental health at that time.”
Auto-rickshaw driver Yakub Ali and rickshaw-puller Abdul Hakim were killed when Rony fired randomly from his Land Cruiser Prado in the night of Apr 14.
Hakim’s mother Monowara Begum had filed the case with Ramna police the following day.
On Wednesday, he was also fined Tk 50,000, the failure to pay which would add six months to his jail term.
“The witnesses who testified in court never said that Rony fired the shots, but they said it to the magistrate and the case’s investigative officer under oath,” said defense lawyer Omar Faruk.
“I am noticing a contradiction between testimonies and the verdict. We believe we have been denied justice. We’ll go to High Court after going through the entire verdict,” he said.
State counsel SM Zahid Hossain said he was satisfied with the court’s ruling even though the convict was able to evade maximum penalty.
“We've proven the charge based on witness testimonies, call records and video footage of the incident. The judge considered his health in determining the verdict.”
“The plaintiffs, the state and the defence were all waiting for this day. What had happened then was despicable and unfortunate. Everyone wanted to see justice being served in this case.”
Rony, arrested on May 31 of 2015, opened fire from his licensed gun while under the influence of drugs. He became irritated after being stuck in a traffic congestion, police had said.
Detective Branch Sub-Inspector Dipak Kumar Das charged Rony in court on July 21, 2015 after investigating the case.
Investigator Das alleged that the shooting might not have been intended to commit murder, but the suspect knew that someone could get injured or die in the firing. He subsequently brought charges of murder against Rony.
He named 37 as witnesses and provided 15 pieces of evidence, including report on ballistic tests of the bullets found in the bodies of the victims.
Judge Shamsunnahar of Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court No. 2 framed two murder charges against Rony on Mar 6, 2016.
Imran Fakir, the driver of Rony’s car, and two of Rony’s friends – ‘Tiger Kamal’ and Kamal Mahmud - who were in the car during the incident, testified before court. Media later reported that vehicle involved in the shooting was registered to Pinu Khan.