A Sylhet court on Thursday sentenced former police sub-inspector Akbar Hossain Bhuiyan to death for the custodial killing of Raihan Ahmed, 34, at the Bandarbazar police outpost in 2020.
The court also sentenced two other accused to life imprisonment and three others to seven years in prison each.
Sylhet Metropolitan Sessions Judge Abdul Majid Munshi delivered the verdict in the afternoon.
Of the six convicts, only assistant sub-inspector Asheque Elahi was present in court when the verdict was announced. The remaining five are absconding.
Court public prosecutor Mohammad Muminul Islam Momin confirmed the verdict.
He said the court had sentenced Akbar Hossain Bhuiyan to death, while police constables Md Harun-or-Rashid and Titu Chandra Das were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Tk1 lakh each.
Police sub-inspector Md Hasan Uddin, assistant sub-inspector Asheque Elahi and journalist Abdul Al Mamun were sentenced to seven years in prison each, according to the public prosecutor.
Expressing satisfaction with the verdict, Momin said the prosecution was initially satisfied but would review the judgment before deciding whether to appeal to the higher court.
He said no further legal steps would be taken if Raihan’s family was satisfied with the verdict.
Meanwhile, Raihan’s mother, Salma Begum, expressed satisfaction with the judgment, delivered nearly six years after her son’s death.
She was present in court when the verdict was announced.
“I am satisfied with the verdict. We will find peace when the sentence is carried out by hanging the main accused, Akbar Hossain. Raihan’s soul will also find peace,” she said.
How Raihan was killed
Raihan Ahmed was taken to the Bandarbazar police outpost under Sylhet Metropolitan Police around midnight on 10 October 2020, where he was tortured. He died the following day.
His wife subsequently filed a case under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act.
Following the complaint, an inquiry committee formed by Sylhet Metropolitan Police investigated the incident and found evidence that Raihan had been taken to the outpost and tortured.
On 12 October 2020, four police personnel, including Akbar Hossain Bhuiyan, who was then in charge of the outpost, were suspended. Three others were withdrawn from their duties.
The investigation was subsequently taken over by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), which arrested three suspects, including constable Harun, from police custody.
Akbar, the prime accused, was arrested from the Kanaighat border area of Sylhet on 9 November 2020.
He remained in prison until securing bail from the High Court on 10 August 2025. He was released from Sylhet Central Jail the following day and is currently absconding.
The PBI submitted a charge sheet in the case on 5 May 2021, naming six accused and identifying Akbar Hossain Bhuiyan, then 32, as the prime accused.
The other accused named in the charge sheet were assistant sub-inspector Asheque Elahi, then 43, constables Md Harun-or-Rashid, then 32, and Titu Chandra Das, then 38, sub-inspector Md Hasan Uddin, then 32, who served as second-in-command at the Bandarbazar outpost, and Abdullah Al Noman, then 32, a journalist from Companiganj upazila who was described as a relative of Akbar.
