Bagerhat Correspondent :
S. M. Solaiman, District and Session Judge of Bagerhat, in a judgment delivered on Thursday convicted 9 persons and sentenced 3 of them to be hanged till their death while the judge sentenced 6 others to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Tk.10 thousand each in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year more on the charge of killing Rustam Ali Matubbor, owner of a shrimp and lobster farm of village Maubhog under Fakirhat Upazila in the district to death.
Imrul, one of the accused was, however, acquitted of the charge for want of sufficient evidence.
Those who were awarded death penalty are : Tapan Mandol, son of one Nepal Mandol of village Naldha under Fakirhat Upazila, Mizan Shaikh, son of one Sultan Shaikh and Atanu Mondol, son of one Sushanta Mandol of the same village.
Those were awarded life-imprisonment are : Abdur Rauf, son of one Afsar Shaikh of village Naldh-Moubhog under Fakirhat Upazila, Trinath Hira, son of one Adhir Hira of village Dahar-Moubhog, Naresh Dhali, son of one Kumod Dhali, Shib Shankar Hira. Son of one Mahananda Hira, Kisna Bala, son of one Rajab Bala of the same village and Bahauddin Gazi, son of one Moslem Gazi of village Madhya Moubhog under the same Upazila.
Zihad Shaikh who was awarded death penalty and Abdur Rauf who was awarded life imprisonment were present in the court at the time declaring the judgment. All other convicted persons were absconding.
The prosecution story, in short, is that on February 27, 2003 at night the accused persons raided the dwelling house of deceased Rustam Ali Matubbor, owner of a fish farm and son of one Sayed Ali Matubbor of village Naldha-Moubhog under Fakirhat Upazila and shot him to death.
In this connection Joynal Matubbor, brother of the deceased registered a murder case with Fakirhat PS accusing 10 persons on the following day. Police investigated into the matter and submitted a charge sheet to the court on February 28, 2004.
