The Appellate Division of Supreme Court has fixed 29 November for hearing a review petition filed by the then Sub-Inspector (SI) Hayatul Islam Thakur, seeking reconsideration of his life imprisonment in the case filed over custodial death of Independent University student Shaheen Reza Rubel.
The Chamber Judge Court of Appellate Division, Justice Md Rezaul Haque, set the date on Sunday.
On 23 July 1998, a team from the Detective Branch (DB) of police, led by SI Hayatul Islam Thakur, detained Rubel, who subsequently died while in DB custody.
In the case filed over the incident, a trial court sentenced 13 individuals, including the then Assistant Commissioner (AC) of police Akram, to life imprisonment on 17 June 2002, while sentencing an accused named Mukuli Begum to one year of imprisonment.
The accused appealed to the High Court against the trial court’s verdict in 2002. Following the hearing on the appeal, the High Court acquitted 13 accused, including AC Akram and Mukuli Begum, but upheld the life imprisonment of SI Hayatul Islam Thakur.
Following the High Court verdict, AC Akram was released from prison on the night of 9 May 2011.
The other acquitted individuals were Aminul Islam, Amir Ahmed Tareq, Nurul Alam, Abdul Karim, Nuruzzaman, Ratul Parvez, Mir Faruq, Mongshewen, Abul Kalam Azad, Kamrul Hasan, Zakir Hossain, and Mukuli Begum.
Subsequently, the state filed an appeal against the acquittal of AC Akram, while Hayatul Islam Thakur also appealed against his life sentence.
Granting the state’s leave to appeal, the Appellate Division directed AC Akram on 30 August 2015 to surrender before the trial court within seven days.
Following the appeal hearing, the Appellate Division on 28 March 2017 upheld the acquittal of the 13 accused, including the then DB Assistant Commissioner Md Akram Hossain, while dismissing the appeal of SI Hayatul Islam Thakur and maintaining his life imprisonment.
Hayatul Islam Thakur later filed an application seeking a review of that Appellate Division judgment, and 29 November has now been set for the hearing. Meanwhile, former AC Akram passed away on 16 July 2021.
