A Dhaka court on Monday sentenced three men to death for the murder of an autorickshaw puller and the hijacking of his vehicle in Keraniganj nearly five years ago.
The verdict was delivered by Dhaka’s 8th Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Munir Hossain.
The condemned convicts are Ali Hossain, Lutfor Rahman, and Hasan. In addition to the death penalty, they were sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment for hijacking.
The court also sentenced a garage owner, Ahmadur Rahman, to three years of rigorous imprisonment for purchasing the hijacked autorickshaw at a low price despite knowing it was stolen property.
Riazul Islam Sajib, the bench assistant of the court, confirmed the judgment. He stated that alongside life imprisonment, each convict was fined Tk 5 lakh, in default of which they must serve one year of simple imprisonment. For the hijacking charge, they were sentenced to five years of imprisonment and fined Tk 10,000, in default of which they will serve three months of simple imprisonment.
Ahmadur was sentenced to three years of imprisonment and fined Tk 30,000, in default of which he will serve three months of simple imprisonment.
Out of the total fines, the court directed that Tk 15 lakh be paid to the helpless family and orphaned children of the deceased puller as compensation.
Before the announcement of the verdict, Ali Hossain, Lutfor Rahman, and Hasan were produced in court. Following the delivery of the judgment, they were sent back to jail with conviction warrants.
As Ahmadur Rahman is currently absconding, the court has issued an arrest warrant along with a conviction warrant against him.
According to the case details, the victim, Jewel, left his garage with his autorickshaw at around 3:30pm on 15 October 2020, as part of his daily routine. The convicts, acting on a pre-planned conspiracy, gathered at Ruhitpur Bazar at around 7pm that evening.
Ali and Lutfar boarded Jewel’s autorickshaw pretending to be passengers and directed him towards Vashanchar Kathbagan. Upon reaching the location, Hasan and a teenager named Enamul, who were waiting in ambush, joined them.
The attackers pinned Jewel down by his hands, feet, and mouth, and dragged him into a dhaincha (sesbania) field. While the underage Enamul remained seated in the autorickshaw, the others strangled Jewel to death.
They then fled the scene with Jewel’s mobile phone, cash, and the autorickshaw.
When Jewel failed to return home, his family initiated a search and eventually recovered his body from the dhaincha field. Jewel’s sister, Sabina, subsequently lodged a case with the Keraniganj Model Police Station.
Following an investigation, Keraniganj Model Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Mahmud Alam submitted a charge sheet the following year accusing four individuals, alongside a “doshipatro” (guilt-sheet) against Enamul.
The court framed charges against the accused on 28 July 2022 to commence the trial. During the trial, the court recorded the testimonies of 16 prosecution witnesses, while one witness testified for the defense.
The court delivered the verdict on Monday following the self-defense hearings and arguments.
Following their arrest, the four accused had given confessional statements in court. Their confessions revealed that Ahmadur had purchased the hijacked autorickshaw for just Tk 22,000 for high profit, fully aware that it was stolen property.
