Rubel Ahmed, a 33-year-old close associate of the prime accused in Sharif Osman Hadi murder case, has provided confessional statement in court following two phases of remand.
Rubel, identified as an accomplice of the prime suspect Faisal Karim Masud, alias Rahul, was produced before the court on Saturday, by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Assistant Superintendent of Police, Abdur Kadir Bhuiyan.
Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahbubur Rahman recorded the confession before ordering the suspect to be sent to jail. Rubel had been arrested on 21 January from the Ati Noyabazar area of South Keraniganj with assistance from the Detective Branch (DB).
Attack on Hadi
The victim, Sharif Osman Hadi, was the convener of Inqilab Moncho and had gained public prominence for his role in the July uprising and the movement to ban the Awami League.
Hadi had formally announced his intention to contest the upcoming 13th parliamentary elections as an independent candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency.
On 12 December, while conducting an election campaign in the Bijoynagar area, Hadi was attacked by an assailant on a motorcycle who shot him at close range while he was travelling in a rickshaw.
After undergoing surgery at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital, he was flown to Singapore via air ambulance, where he succumbed to his injuries on 18 December.
Legal proceedings
A case was initially filed on 14 December by Abdullah Al Jaber, the member secretary of Inqilab Moncho, for attempted murder, but the charge was subsequently upgraded to Section 302 (murder) following Hadi’s death.
Although the Detective Branch (DB) originally investigated and submitted a charge sheet on 6 January naming 17 individuals, the investigation was later transferred to the CID after the complainant expressed dissatisfaction.
On 15 January, Abdullah Al Jaber filed a “Naraji” (no-confidence) petition against the DB’s findings, leading the court to direct the CID to conduct a fresh probe.
The DB investigation had previously concluded that the murder was a result of political vendetta and a pre-planned attempt to disrupt the 13th parliamentary elections.
The 17 accused named in the DB’s initial charge sheet included the prime suspect Faisal Karim Masud (alias Rahul alias Daud), his father Md Humayun Kabir, his mother Hashi Begum, his wife Saheda Parvin Samia, his brother-in-law Wahid Ahmed Shipu, and his friend Maria Akter Lima.
Other accused individuals include Md Kabir, Md Nuruzzman Nomani alias Uzzal, Md Aminul Islam alias Raju, Md Faisal, Md Alamgir Hossain alias Alamgir Sheikh, and former ward councillor Md Taijul Islam Chowdhury Bappi.
Additionally, several individuals were charged for allegedly assisting suspects in fleeing to India, specifically Sibion Diu, Sanjay Chisim, Philip Snal, Mukti Mahmud, and Jasmine Akter. At the time of the charge sheet, Faisal Karim Masud and the final four named individuals remained fugitives.
