Trial of child domestic help dragging on
A juvenile court in Dhaka is yet to complete the trial against Khadiza Akhter Sumi, a domestic help of Oishee Rahman, an accused in the case filed for the murders of a police inspector and his wife in August 2013.
But the trial against Oishee, also accused for killing her parents, was completed both in the trial and in the High Court earlier.
Special Branch (SB) Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman and his wife Shapna Rahman were stabbed to death at their rented flat in Chamelibagh in the capital. Police recovered their bodies on August 16, 2013.
Sumi was charged with assisting Oishee to remove the bodies of the couple.
Advocate Syed Nazmul Huda, one of the counsels of Sumi, told The Daily Star yesterday that the trial could not be completed due to failure of the prosecution.
“The prosecution was reluctant to produce the prosecution witnesses before the court even though 52 consecutive dates had already been passed. Moreover, same witnesses who had earlier given their statements before another court which disposed of the other part against Oishee and two others in 2015” the lawyer added.
The lawyer also said Sumi appeared before the court on every date from Rangamati.
Rejecting the defence plea, additional public prosecutor Abdus Sattar Dulal said he had tried his best to produce the witnesses but they did not pay heed to the court summons.
Sumi was arrested soon after the killing of the couple. Later, she gave confessional statements before a magistrate on August 24 where she said she saw the scene of killing of the couple by their daughter Oishee. Later, she assisted Oishee to remove the bodies.
After an investigation, the then inspector of the detective branch of police Abual Khaiyer Matubbar, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted two charge sheets -- one against Oishee and her two friends and the other against Sumi -- on March 8 of 2014.
The trail against Oishee and two others was completed in the Speedy Trial Tribunal-3 of Dhaka and it gave death sentence to Oishee while one was given three years in jail and the other one was acquitted.
Earlier on June 5 this year, the HC commuted Oishee's death sentence to life in jail.
But the juvenile court framed charge against Sumi on May 20, 2014 and it had earlier recorded statements of 20 prosecution witnesses including complainant and IO of the case.
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