Three accused including the wife, girlfriend and brother-in-law of prime suspect Faisal Karim Masud—have confessed before Dhaka court to their involvement in the killing of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.
Saheda Parvin Samia, Faisal’s wife, his girlfriend Maria Akter Lima and his brother-in-law Wahid Ahmed Sipu gave their statements on Wednesday before two separate Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate courts and were later sent to jail.
Court sources said Lima gave her confessional statement before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Kamal Uddin, while Samia and Sipu gave theirs before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Islam Junayed after agreeing to confess.
In the same case, a court granted a five-day remand for Aminul Islam Raju, who allegedly helped Faisal go into hiding near the border, following a hearing at the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Awlad Hossain Muhammad Junayed.
Deputy Commissioner of DMP Prosecution Division Mia Mohammad Ashis Bin Hasan said the order was passed after hearing arguments from the prosecution.
According to the remand prayer, Raju contacted Philip through a close relative around 3:30pm on the day of the incident and helped Faisal hide in a border area, while information also suggested his direct involvement in providing money to the accused and those assisting them in hiding.
State prosecutor Qaiyum Hossain Nayan argued in favour of the remand, after which the court allowed five days, although no lawyer appeared for Raju during the hearing.
After their arrest, the court had earlier granted two consecutive five-day remands to Samia, Lima and Sipu on 15 December and 21 December.
Osman Hadi was shot on 12 December while travelling in an autorickshaw on Box Culvert Road in Bijoynagar, Dhaka, after gunmen fired from a moving motorcycle.
He was initially treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later taken to Evercare Hospital before being flown to Singapore for advanced treatment on 15 December, where he died on the night of 18 December.
The case was filed on 14 December as an attempted murder by Inqilab Moncho member secretary Abdullah Al Jaber, and Section 302 was later added after Hadi’s death.
So far, 10 people have been shown arrested in the case, including Faisal’s parents Md Humayun Kabir and Mosa Hasi Begum, both of whom have also given confessional statements.
After completion of remand, accused Md Nuruzzaman Nomani alias Ujjal has been sent to jail, while the court has imposed a travel ban on prime accused Faisal Karim Masud.
