An accused in the Khilgaon schoolboy Jisan murder case has escaped from police custody. Shariful Islam, the fugitive, was seen fleeing the court premises in CCTV footage. Despite police raids at multiple locations, the accused remains at large.
The incident occurred at 11:40am on Thursday within the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court premises. Eyewitnesses and police sources confirm Shariful managed to unlock his handcuffs while being transported from jail to court. He stands accused in a kidnapping and murder case filed with Khilgaon Police Station.
Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court lockup in-charge SI Ripon Mollah stated: “The accused assaulted Constable Shahidullah while being escorted back to custody and fled.”
DMP Prosecution Division ADC Main Uddin explained: “The accused had loosened his handcuffs using a metal object before attacking the constable. Legal action is being taken, and Kotwali Police Station has been alerted.”
Police confirm Shariful Islam is an accused in the abduction and murder case of schoolboy Jisan Hossain. The case was being heard before Dhaka’s 3rd Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Sheikh Samiul Islam, with two accused – Shariful Islam and Shahin Mondal – brought from Kashimpur Jail.
After testimony concluded, while being escorted back to custody from the second floor, Shariful escaped near the staircase. CCTV footage shows him removing his white shirt inside a courtroom and fleeing the premises wearing a red t-shirt.
Shariful hails from Haripur village in Dinajpur’s Nawabganj. His father, late Shafiq Ahmed Khan, was also implicated in criminal activities.
On January 19, 2018, Jisan was abducted while visiting relatives in Sipahibag. His father Mofazzal Hossain received a Tk15 lakh ransom demand. Zisan’s body was later found at a fish farm in Aftabnagar.
RAB arrested Shahin Mia and Shariful Islam, who confessed to strangling Jisan after the abduction and weighing his body with bricks before dumping it in water.
Khilgaon Police SI Mohammad Rahat Khan submitted the chargesheet on February 29, 2020. The trial began on September 5, 2021, with 9 out of 37 witnesses having testified so far.