The High Court has upheld the death penalty for three convicts in the abduction and murder case of nine-year old schoolboy Abu Sayeed in Sylhet.
The HC bench of Justice Shahidul Karim and Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman delivered the verdict on Tuesday (June 22) after holding hearing on the death references and appeals filed by the convicts.
The three death-row convicts are Ebadur Rahman Putul, a sacked constable of Airport police station in Sylhet city, Abdur Rakib, general secretary of Sylhet district Awami Ulama League, and Ataur Rahman Geda, a so-called police source. All the three convicts are now at Kashmirpur jail.
Deputy Attorney General Bashir Ahmed represented the state, while Advocate Shishir Mohammad Manir, Sayed Ahmed Raza and Md Siddique Rahman moved for Ebad, Rakib and Alaur respectively in the higher court. Shishir Manir said that his client would move an appeal before the Appellate Division against the HC verdict after receiving its certified copy.
On November 30 in 2015, the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal of Sylhet pronounced the capital punishment for three persons. The verdict was issued within nine working days of the commencement of the trial. The convicts had been given double-death sentence for the abduction and murder. The trial court, however, acquitted an accused named Mahib Hossain Masum, in its verdict.
On March 11 in 2015, Abu Sayeed, a fourth grader at Shah Mir Govt Primary School in Sylhet and son of Abdul Matin of Raynagar area in Sylhet city, was abducted, while the kidnappers demanded Tk 5 lakh in ransom from his family.
Three days later on March 14, police recovered the child’s body wrapped in sacks from the house of constable Ebadur Rahman Putul at Kumarpara in the city. Abu Sayeed’s father later filed a case with the Kotwali police station on March 15.
The shocking incident outraged local people who strongly protested against the barbaric incident and demanded capital punishment of the killers.
On September 23 in that year, Investigation Officer Mosharraf Hossain, also the officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, filed the charge-sheet against four suspects. On November 17 in that year, the court framed charges against four people.
