Staff Reporter :
The full text of the High Court’s (HC) judgment on Biswajit murder case has been released. Deputy Attorney General Moniruzzaman Rubel said that the attorney office had received a copy thereof on Wednesday.
In the text the HC said, “We live in a society, where the moneyed and influential persons enjoy some sorts of impunity and can easily influence the outcome of an investigation after committing an offence.”
“In many cases, the police and the other investigating/inquiring agencies, doctors and experts come in aid of the offenders by furnishing motivated and false report. They do it under political or social influence or sometime for illegal monetary gain or fulfilment of any other purpose,” read the full text.
“These sorts of unfair and motivated investigations must not be allowed to continue and the public servants, who are entrusted with such responsibilities, must be made accountable. If the Judiciary cannot play its due role to ensure justice by punishing the offenders and protecting the innocent citizens, the rule of law will be at stake,” read the full text.
The HC also said, “It is surprising that without lodging an FIR, even an unnatural death case, the dead body was sent to the village home of the victim, where he was cremated with all the marks of injuries. Whereas the video footages, paper clippings, testimony of the eyewitnesses clearly proved use of several and indiscriminate blows with kirich (long knife), machete, iron rod and wooden stick and rule on his person, which continued for a considerable time.”
The HC bench of Justice Md Ruhul Quddus and Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty delivered the judgement on August 6 in 2017.
The HC upheld the death sentence of two BCL men, commuted four to life term and acquitted two in the Biswajit Das murder case.
All the eight accused were handed down capital punishment by a lower court on December 18, 2013.
The HC acquitted two others who were given life imprisonment.
The two BCL activists, whose death sentences were confirmed by the HC, are Rafiqul Islam Shakil and Rajon Talukder.
Rajon is absconding while Shakil is in jail.
Previously death sentenced Mahfuzur Rahman Nahid, Emdadul Haque Emdad, G M Rasheduzzaman Shaon and Noor-e-Alam Limon got life imprisonment. Limon is absconding while the other three are behind bars.
Md Saiful Islam and Quayyum Mia Tipu, both sentenced to death by the trial court, were acquitted.
The HC also acquitted two others namely Golam Mostafa and A H M Kibria, who were earlier awarded life imprisonment.
This court, however, refrained from making any comments about the 11 accused, who were given life imprisonment by the lower court, as they did not move any appeal before the HC.
In the morning of December 9, 2012, a number of bombs were exploded in front of Bahadur Shah Park as the 18-party opposition alliance enforced a road blockade.
Hearing the sounds, pro-government BCL men of Jagannath University unit rushed to the spot, wielding sticks and chased some people suspecting them to be pickets. At one stage, they caught Bishwajit Das, 24, proprietor of Amantron Tailors in Sutrapur, who was passing through the area.
They beat up and hacked him indiscriminately, dragging him down to the streets. Some of them continued pounding on him as he tried to escape.
Bishwajit did manage to break free and cross the road, but collapsed. Some onlookers then put him on a rickshaw that took him to Mitford Hospital in about 10 minutes. He gasped for air in the hospital for 15-17 minutes and then died.
The trial began in July 2013.
