Hafiz, Anu fired at Ahsanullah

Slain Awami League (AL) lawmaker Ahsanullah Master's son Zahid Ahsan Sohel, a prosecution witness in the murder case told a court yesterday that Kana Hafiz and Anu fired gunshots at the dais where his father and others were present.

Judge Shahed Noor Uddin of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 recorded Sohel's statement.

Later, Sohel was cross-examined by defence lawyers of the accused.

After three hours of cross-examination, the tribunal fixed March 5 for next hearing of the case.

In his deposition, Sohel told the court that at about 12:30pm on May 7 last year he was at their under construction building and he heard sound of bomb blasts from the nearby ground where a conference to form a Sechchasebok League committee was being held.

After a while, he saw a group of miscreants led by Kana Hafiz and Anu firing gunshots at the dais, the witness said.

Another group including Monir, Amir, Zahangir, Babu, Mahbub and Moshiur joined the shooting and went towards the east, the witness said, adding that he then went to the spot and saw his father and 12 others lying injured on the field, who were taken to different hospitals for treatment.

The AL lawmaker was declared dead at the Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka the same day. Three others, two of them on the day, were also killed in the incident.

Sohel said that he came to know from other witnesses that Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal leader Nurul Islam Sarker was the mastermind behind the killings.

Twelve of the 30 accused in the case including Nurul Islam Sarker were present on the dock during the hearing. Of them, Kabir Hossain, Ayub, Pappu Sarker and Alamin are on bail, while Dipu and 17 others are at large.