Ashulia body burning case: Former MP Saiful, 6 sentenced to death
A verdict has been announced against 16 accused in a case of crimes against humanity, including the killing of seven people, in the July-August mass uprising in Ashulia, Dhaka. In the verdict, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 has ordered the death penalty for six people, including former MP Saiful Islam. In addition, the tribunal has sentenced seven people to life imprisonment and two to seven years in prison. One person has been acquitted. A three-member judicial panel led by International Crimes Tribunal-2 Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury announced the verdict on Thursday (February 5) afternoon. The other two members of the panel are Judge Md. Manjurul Bashid and Judge Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir.
Earlier, the court began announcing the verdict at 12:40 pm. The verdict was broadcast live on Bangladesh Television. It was also shown live from the link of the Chief Prosecutor. Those sentenced to death are: former MP from Dhaka-19 constituency Muhammad Saiful Islam, then OC of Ashulia Police Station AFM Sayeed Roni, local Awami League leader Roni Bhuiyan, then SI of Ashulia Police Station Abdul Malek, former ASI Bishwajit Saha and Constable Mukul Chokder.
The seven who were sentenced to life imprisonment are: former DIG of Dhaka Range Syed Nurul Islam, former Superintendent of Police Md. Asaduzzaman Ripon, former Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops) of Dhaka District Md. Abdullahil Kafi, former Additional Superintendent of Police (Savar Circle) Md. Shahidul Islam, former Police Inspector (Investigation) Mohammad Masudur Rahman, then DB Inspector Arafat Hossain and former Police Inspector (Operations) Nirmal Kumar Das.
Two have been given seven-year sentences. They are SI Arafat Uddin and ASI Kamrul Hasan. Former SI Sheikh Abzalul Haque has been acquitted. He gave his statement as a government witness in the case. The eight accused arrested in the case were produced before the tribunal at 12:25 pm today. Judge Noor Mohammad Shahriar Kabir read out the summary verdict in their presence.
The arrested accused include former Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops) of Dhaka district Md. Abdullahil Kafi, former Additional Superintendent of Police (Savar Circle) Md. Shahidul Islam, then DB Inspector Arafat Hossain, SI Malek, SI Arafat Uddin, ASI Kamrul Hasan, SI Sheikh Abzalul Haque and Constable Mukul.
Earlier, on February 1, the judicial panel led by Tribunal-2 Chairman Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury set the date for today to announce the verdict. Seven people were martyred in the incident. They are Sajjad Hossain Sajal, As Sabur, Tanzil Mahmud Sujoy, Bayojid Bostami, Abul Hossain, Omar Farooq and Mohammad Shahabul Islam.
On August 21 last year, Tribunal-2 framed charges against the accused and ordered the trial to begin. At that time, seven of the eight accused present claimed their innocence. However, SI Sheikh Abjalul Haque admitted his guilt and gave his statement as a government witness. On July 2 of the same year, the court took into consideration the formal charges filed by the state. The state attached 313 pages, 168 pages of documentary evidence and two pen drives as other sources of information to the charges.
