HC judge unwilling to hear Tareq's petition

A judge of a High Court bench yesterday expressed unwillingness to hear a petition of sacked Rab official Lt Col (retd) Tareq Sayed Muhammad seeking scrapping of the trial proceedings against him in a case filed for abduction and killing of seven people in Narayanganj in April, 2014.

The bench of Justice Md Emdadul Huq and Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan also ordered its official to send the petition to the chief justice for an appropriate decision.

"One of us felt embarrassed to hear the petition," said Justice Emdadul Huq. He, however, did not disclose the name of the judge who felt embarrassed and the reasons behind the feeling. Petitioner's lawyer Golam Kibria told The Daily Star that the chief justice might assign another HC bench for its hearing.

On April 27, 2014, Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam and his four associates, and senior lawyer Chandan Sarker and his driver were abducted and killed allegedly by some Rab-11 personnel. Their bodies were later found floating in the Shitalakkhya river.

Yesterday, Tareq Sayed's lawyer Kibria said Selina Islam, wife of victim Nazrul, filed a case with Fatullah police on April 28, 2014, and 11 days later, Bijoy Kumar Paul, a relative of Chandan Sarker, filed another case.

An investigation officer has investigated both of the cases and submitted same charge sheets to the trial court, which is not allowed by the law, as an accused cannot be tried and punished separately for a single offence, he said citing from the quashment petition filed by Tareq Sayed on February 24.