Four years passed, trial yet to begin
Two and a half years after the killing of Faruk Hossain, a Bangladesh Chhatra League activist of Rajshahi University, in February 2010, police charged 110 Jamaat-Shibir men, including Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami. And two more years have passed, but the trial is yet to begin.
The complainant of the case Mazedul Islam Opu, then general secretary of RU unit BCL, said police did not take the case seriously, while, some BCL leaders, wishing anonymity, alleged that police were making the delay in exchange for bribes from Jamaat-Shibir men.
Echoing the BCL leaders, a lawyer of the Rasjhahi district judge's court, said accusing so many people might have been "a technique to take bribes" from the accused.
Several legal experts in Rajshahi said accusation of a large number of people "destroys the merit of a case" and "weakens a case".
They suspected a motive behind the charging of so many people in the case and blamed this for the delay. "Actually, it doesn't take a hundred people to a kill a single person," said a criminal law expert. Police might have a motive to harass the accused and make money in the process, he told The Daily Star, seeking anonymity.
Mahmud Reza, a lawyer at Rajshahi district judge's court, said, “It will take a lot of time to frame charges against the accused.”
Another lawyer of the court, Rafiqul Islam, said that after opening of the trial, the defence might file time petitions on different grounds and thus delay the proceedings.
Faruk was killed in a clash between Jamaat-backed Shibir activists and pro-Awami League BCL men at RU on February 9, 2010. His body was dumped into a manhole. The next day, BCL leader Mazedul Islam Opu filed a murder case, accusing 35 named and 29 unnamed Jamaat-Shibir men.
Among the prime accused were Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, and Delwar Hossain Sayedee and Islami Chhatra Shibir's then RU unit president Shamsul Alam Golap and general secretary Mobarak Hossain.
Talking to The Daily Star, the investigation officer, Zillur Rahman, said, “After investigation, police have found involvement of all the 110 accused in the killing.”
He said, “At a rally in Rajshahi city on February 6 (three days before the violence), the three top Jamaat leaders provoked the Shibir activists to attack BCL men, triggering the clash that left Faruk dead.”
Zillur, then officer-in-charge of Rajpara Police Station where the case was filed, submitted the charge sheet to the Rajshahi Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM's) court against 110 Jamaat-Shibir men on July 30, 2012.
The police official ruled out all the allegations regarding the charging of 110 people.
Abdus Salam, a prosecutor of a speedy tribunal which is expected to hold the trial of the case, said that as the trial of the three top Jamaat leaders had been going on since 2010 on charges of crimes against humanity in 1971, it was too difficult to produce them before the Rajshahi court. “That's why, an unexpected delay is happening.”
Meanwhile, none of the 110 accused, except for the three Jamaat leaders who are shown arrested, is detained now, said police. Till July 9, 2012, a total of 84 accused had been arrested but they got bail later. The remaining 23 are on the run.
Following the incident, the university authorities formed two probe committees--one a day after the clash and the other on April 27, 2011. They have submitted their reports identifying some of the perpetrators and recommending punishment for them, but no punitive measures were taken yet.
Asked about this, Vice Chancellor Prof Muhammad Mizanuddin said action would be taken against the culprits "immediately", but did not give any time limit.
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