A tribunal has sentenced Chowdhury Md Zulkarnain, alias Monir, to death for the murder of his classmate Shamim Hassan, a student of the University of Alternative Development (UODA), at Zia Udyan a decade and a half ago.
Judge Farzana Yasmin of the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 delivered the verdict on Thursday. The convict, Zulkarnain, hails from Pashchimbagh village under Ajmeriganj Police Station in Habiganj.
According to the court’s Bench Assistant, Mizanur Rahman, the court has issued an arrest warrant against the convict, who remains absconding.
Motive and Incident
The case details reveal that at the time of the murder, both Shamim Hassan and Zulkarnain were second-year Pharmacy students sharing a room in Adabor. Zulkarnain had reportedly grown resentful after Shamim refused to lend him 50,000 Taka for his examination fees.
On the night of 6 December, 2011, Zulkarnain took Shamim to Hotel Eram under the pretext of an outing. While there, Zulkarnain encouraged Shamim to consume alcohol but refrained from drinking himself. He subsequently took the intoxicated Shamim to Zia Udyan.
At the park, Zulkarnain demanded Shamim’s locker keys so he could sell Shamim’s laptop and mobile phone to pay his exam fees. When Shamim refused to hand over the keys, Zulkarnain stabbed him in the neck. He also stabbed Shamim in the face to disfigure his features. The police recovered Shamim’s body the following day.
Legal Proceedings
Following the incident, Shamim’s uncle filed a murder case at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on December 8. The investigation was led by the then Sub-Inspector (SI) Johurul Huda, who submitted the chargesheet against Zulkarnain on 13 March, 2012.
The trial formally commenced on 10 September, 2012, with the framing of charges. During the proceedings, the tribunal recorded the testimonies of 14 out of 21 witnesses before reaching Thursday’s verdict.
