Call for justice gets louder

Their deep anger, kept dormant for 18 months, burst out the moment the microbus carrying Nur Hossain stopped before a Narayanganj court yesterday afternoon.

 "We want Nur Hossain to hang," "We want his remand" -- were two of the slogans that reverberated through the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court as the prime accused in the sensational seven-murder case in Narayanganj was produced there around 2:30pm amid tight security.

Some people brandished their sandals at Nur Hossain, who was smirking.

On Thursday night, he was brought back from India.

The former local Awami League leader fled to India shortly after the abduction and murder of seven people -- Narayanganj ward councillor Nazrul Islam, his driver and three associates, and senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar and his driver, on April 27 last year. Their bodies were later found in the Shitalakkhya river.

The seven were abducted allegedly by some Rapid Action Battalion men from Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road.

Yesterday, however, the slogans outside the court waned and people were shocked to hear that police did not move to take Nur Hossain on remand and that the Chief Judicial Magistrate Shahidul Islam sent him to jail over the sensational murders.

A ward councillor of Narayanganj city when the murders happened, Nur Hossain was shown arrested in 11 cases, including two for the seven-murder incident, filed with Siddhirganj and Fatullah police stations.

After a brief hearing that began around 2:30pm, he was taken to Narayanganj jail first and then to Dhaka Central Jail.

Family members of the victims, lawyers and several hundred locals, who were waiting outside the court since morning, were unhappy with the Narayanganj police for not seeking his remand in any of the 11 cases.

Asked about this, Narayanganj police said there was no scope to place him on remand in the seven-murder cases as investigators already submitted the charge sheets in those cases following investigation. On why he was not taken on remand in other cases, they said there was no need for that at the moment.

WHY IN RAB CUSTODY?

Yesterday, the Rab took Nur to its headquarters in Uttara around 7:00am. From there, he was taken to Narayanganj and handed over to the police around 8:15am.

Families of the victims reacted sharply to this.

"Rab officials could influence Nur Hossain as some of their colleagues are accused in the case," said Shahidul Islam, the father-in-law of Nazrul Islam.

The matter also upset some police officials of Narayanganj who said the Rab should not have taken Nur Hossain in its custody as some of its members are accused in the case.

"In one way or other, they [Rab] tried to get the credit for bringing him back," said one police official, seeking anonymity.

Contacted, Rab's Legal and Media Wing Director Commander Mufti Mahmud Hasan said members of Border Guard Bangladesh, police and Rab were present during the handover of Nur at Benapole by the Indian authorities.

"Later, we brought him to Rab-1 office at 6:50am from Benapole. A medical test was performed on him as per the procedure since he came from another country," he told The Daily Star.

Asked whether they quizzed him, he answered in the negative.

Meanwhile, in a Facebook post yesterday afternoon, Rab Additional Director General Col Ziaul Ahsan took credit for Nur Hossain's deportation.

“It was the great achievement by the RAB forces to get Noor Hossain back from Indian authority.

“Though this force was involved with this murder but this elite organisation could find out the fact within 12 hrs after the incident. Most of the accused was arrested by RAB and handed over to Enquiry officer of Narayanganj police.”   

'REAL CULPRITS GETTING AWAY'

Selina Islam, widow of Nazrul Islam, said, "We hoped that he [Nur] would be placed on remand to unearth the motive behind the murder. But now the real culprits are getting away."

According to the charge sheet, Nur Hossain was just used here, she said. "My question is did he [Nur] plan and kill the seven people alone? And why did he kill them? ... There must be someone behind it all."

Selina, also a ward councillor, said her husband had no feud with Rab. "If he were a bad guy, the Rab could have killed him in crossfire. Why did Rab kill him and the others so brutality? And who ordered the Rab to kill?"

The answers to all these questions can only be known through interrogation in remand, she said, adding that the charge sheet was submitted without quizzing the prime accused.

"I would appeal to the prime minister to take steps to identify the masterminds," said a weeping Selina.

Selina had filed a no-confidence petition against the charge sheet, as it had dropped the names of some suspects. The court, however, rejected her petition.

She said she would move the High Court in this regard.

Shakhawat Hossain Khan, a prosecution lawyer, referred to a case where police began a fresh investigation even after starting deposition of witness. He said police could take him on remand and then submit a supplementary charge sheet based on the information found during the interrogation.

"Moreover, we need to know how Nur fled to India and who helped him. We believe it would be possible to know who planned and financed the killing if he is quizzed,” he added.

SMILING NUR

With a bullet-proof vest and a helmet, Nur Hossain was produced to the court, handcuffed. Clean-shaven, he was seen smirking as policemen took him to the courtroom.

Inside the courtroom, he tried to talk to some lawyers, but could not do so.

No lawyer represented him in the court.

Next hearing of the seven-murder cases is expected to be held on November 30.

BACKGROUND

Nur allegedly bribed the Rab men for murdering Nazrul with whom he reportedly had a longstanding political feud. Lawyer Chandan and his driver were killed as they happened to witness the abduction of Nazrul and his associates.

Soon after the murder, Nazrul's father-in-law alleged that the Rab men had taken Tk 6 crore from Nur to kill Nazrul.

Three Rab officials -- Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander MM Rana -- were sacked for their alleged involvement in the abduction and killing.

In April this year, police pressed charges against 35 people, including Nur Hossain and the three fired Rab officials.

Of them, 22, including 17 Rab members, are in jail while 13 are on the run, sources said.

Nur Hossain was arrested for trespass and possessing an illegal firearm after he entered into India and was in prison there since.

A West Bengal court on October 16 ordered the Indian authorities to deport him by December 16 to face trial in Bangladesh.