Dhira has been named prime accused in the charege sheet. He is absconding.

The other accused are extremists Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury alias Hasan, Goda Yunus, Iqbal Hossain Shadhin, Mirajul Islam Miraj and Ekhlasur Rahman -- all in Khulna district Jail.

The case for murdering Shaikh Belaluddin Ahmed was filed with Khulna thana under Section 302 of Bangladesh Penal Code (BPC) on February 16 this year.

Officer-in-charge of Khulna thana Mohammod Iqbal, who is investigating officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet.

In March this year, State Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar had named Dhira as the mastermind behind the murder of Belal.

He was arrested from Dhaka on July 5 this year and brought to Khulna. Police interrogated him while on remand for four days as an arrestee in two other murder cases filed with Sonadanga thana and Khanjahan Ali thana of the city. But he could not be quizzed in Belal murder case because of a High Court (HC) order. In August, he was released on bail granted by the HC.

The charge sheet named 49 prosecution witnesses. Of them, Anowar Hossain had earlier made a judicial statement before CMM's Court.

Three of the chargesheeted accused also made statement the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate Atiqul Haque confessing to their involvement in the murder and naming Dhira as the mastermind behind the killing.

The OC said he will also submit a supplementary charge sheet under the Explosive Substances Act today, accusing Dhira and Ekhlas. The main chargesheet under this act was submitted to court on April 25 this year, naming extremists Hasan, Shadhin, Miraj and Goda Yunus as accused.

Dhira is closely linked to Islamist extremists for long in the name of Jamaat politics.

Members of the family of Belal including his wife were satisfied with the charge sheet. They demanded immediate arrest of Dhira and exemplary punishment of the killers.

Belal, Khulna bureau chief of Dainik Sangram, was fatally injured in bomb attack on the night of February 5 on Khulna Press Club premises. He succumbed to injuries on February 11 while under treatment at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka.