A Dhaka court on Tuesday sentenced three men to death for the murder of garment worker Saymon following a mugging at the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in Mirpur four years ago.
The court also sentenced another man to three years in prison for buying the victim’s stolen mobile phone.
Judge Zahidul Islam of the Dhaka 13th Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court handed down the verdict.
The three condemned convicts – Md Yusuf, Iqbal Khan, and Mehdi Hasan were each fined Tk20,000. Meanwhile, the court sentenced Sujon to three years in prison for receiving stolen property.
Confirming the matter, Bench Assistant Sohel Miah said Yusuf, Iqbal, and Mehdi were produced in court from prison during the delivery of the verdict, after which they were sent back to jail with conviction warrants.
As Sujon remains absconding, the court issued both a conviction warrant and an arrest warrant against him. Additional Public Prosecutor Abul Kalam Azad represented the state.
According to case documents, the victim, Saymon, worked as a garment employee at Liberty Garments behind the Soni Cinema Hall in Mirpur-1 on a monthly salary of Tk10,000.
On 11 October 2022, after collecting his salary, Saymon went shopping in Mirpur-1 area with two colleagues, Rifat Hossain Rabbi and Hridoy Hasan.
Around 9pm, whilst returning home after shopping, a man stopped Saymon in front of Aarong Shopping Centre, falsely accusing him of hitting his younger brother.
Threatening Saymon and his colleague Rifat, three muggers forced them onto a rickshaw from in front of Rupayan Tower under the pretext of needing to talk.
The muggers took them past Konabari under Darus Salam Police Station to the front of the kitchen market at Martyred Intellectuals Memorial. After dropping Rifat off there, they forcibly took Saymon inside the memorial premises.
Inside, the three muggers brandished knives and demanded Saymon’s money and mobile phone. When Saymon refused, they stabbed him repeatedly, leaving him bleeding heavily, before fleeing with his money and mobile phone.
Hearing Saymon’s cries, locals rescued him and rushed him to Pangu Hospital, where the attending physician declared him dead.
Following the incident, the victim’s father, Shahjahan Sheikh, filed a murder case against unidentified individuals at Darus Salam Police Station.
During the investigation, police arrested Yusuf, whose information subsequently led to the identification and involvement of Iqbal and Mehdi.
Police recovered money from the sale of Saymon’s mobile phone at Yusuf’s residence.
Under interrogation, Yusuf admitted selling Saymon’s mobile phone to Sujon for Tk2,200.
Following the investigation, Darus Salam Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Sohan Ahmed submitted a charge-sheet on 31 January 2023 against Yusuf, Iqbal, and Mehdi for murder following mugging, and against Sujon for receiving stolen goods.
The trial formally commenced on 2 August 2023 with the framing of charges. During proceedings, the court recorded testimony of 18 witnesses, heard self-defence statements of the accused, and evaluated arguments from both sides before delivering the verdict.
