Charges accepted against 9
A Habiganj court yesterday accepted charges against nine people in the killing of four children in the district's Bahubal upazila on February 12 this year.
According to the charges, Abdul Ali, 60, ordered the killing; his son Rubel Miah, 18, Habibur Rahman Arju, 25, and Bachchu Miah, 32, abducted the kids and killed them; Ali's another son Jewel Miah, 20, Shahed Ahmed Bashir, 32, Billal Miah, 30, Ustar Miah, 48, and Babul Miah, 45, aided and abetted the killers.
They all are residents of Sundrateki village of the upazila.
Magistrate Kiran Shankar Halder of Special Court for Prevention of Women and Children Repression passed the order, said Special Public Prosecutor Abul Hashem Mollah.
The court also rejected bail to five of the nine accused -- Abdul Ali, Rubel Miah, Jewel Miah, Arju Miah and Sahed Miah -- and fixed July 25 for the next hearing, said lawyer Triluk Kanti Chowdhury.
On April 5, Detective Branch of Habiganj police pressed charges against the nine.
Three of them -- Billal Miah, Ustar Miah and Babul Miah -- are on the run, while Bachchu was killed in a “gunfight” with the Rapid Action Battalion in Chunarughat upazila of the district on February 25.
The bodies of the four children were found buried in sand, about a kilometre away from their homes in Sundrateki village, after they went missing five days back. Monir Miah, 7, was in class-I, Zakaria Shuvo, 8, in class-II, Mohammad Tajel Miah, 10, in class-IV, and Ismail Miah, 10, was a madrasa student. The first three were cousins.
Tajel's father Abdul Aziz expressed satisfaction over the submission of the charge sheet and demanded swift trial of the criminals, saying “We want death penalties for them.”
The four children have been victims of rivalry between two groups over the control of local Panchayat (village arbitration council), according to the charge sheet submitted to Judge Kawsar Alam of the Court of Senior Judicial Magistrate, Habiganj.
Shahidul Islam, additional superintendent of Habiganj police, told this correspondent that Tajel's father Abdul Aziz is known as a close aide to Khaleque, who has a longstanding dispute with Abdul Ali over establishing dominance in the local Panchayat and the area.
Abdul Ali wanted to teach Khaleque a lesson and had Abdul Aziz's son abducted and killed with the help of the nine accused, added Shahidul.
A murder case was filed with Bahubal police accusing 11 people.
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