Deposition of 4 more witnesses recorded

A court here yesterday recorded deposition of four witnesses in the case for gang rape and murder of law student Rupa Khatun in a moving bus in Madhupur upazila under the district on August 25.

Abul Hossain, Probir M Kumar, Rohiz Uddin and Abdur Rashid gave their statements before the court of First Additional District and Sessions Judge Abul Mansur Miah, also acting judge of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal.

The four people were made witnesses in the case during the seizure of the passenger bus and making surothal (first inquest) report of the body by police, said advocate Ataur Rahman Azad, district unit general secretary of Bangladesh Manobadhikar Bastobayon Sangstha, which is providing assistance to the state side in the case. 

The court also fixed today for recording deposition of the four more witnesses.

Earlier on January 3, the court recorded deposition of complainant of the case Aminul Islam, sub-inspector of Aronkhola police outpost in Tangail's Madhupur upazila, and fixed January 7 and 8 for recording deposition of the eight others.

Police on August 25 last year recovered Rupa's body near Tangail-Mymensingh road in Madhupur.

The law enforcers arrested five employees of a bus -- Shamim, 26, Akram, 35, and Jahangir, 20, driver Habibur, 45, and supervisor Safar Ali, 55, from Madhupur on August 28 in this connection.

On October 15, Sub-Inspector Kaiyum Khan Siddique, investigation officer of the case and the then in-charge of Aronkhola police outpost, pressed charges against the five accused.

District and Sessions Judge in Tangail Robiul Hasan, as acting judge of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, framed charges against the five transport workers in the case on November 29.