Abduction, murder of 2 Bogura minors in 2004: HC commutes death penalty of 2 convicts

The High Court today (September 19) commuted the death sentence of two fugitive convicts to life imprisonment in a case filed for abduction and killing of two children--Rahima Khatun and Abdur Rahim-- in Bogura in 2004.

Rahima, 8, and Rahim, 6, two children of Md Musa at Bogura's Shibganj area, were abducted on November 2, 2004 for a ransom of Tk 25,000 and were strangled to death after the kidnappers did not get the money.

Police recovered the decomposed bodies of Rahima and Rahim from a paddy filed after seven days of their kidnapping on November 9, 2004, according to the case statement.

Today (September 19), the HC commuted the capital punishment of the fugitive convicts Md Abul Kalam alias Badsha and Md Mahfuzul on the grounds that they did not have any motive to kill Rahima and Rahim and they abducted the children for money.

The medical report also did not specify how the two were killed, Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta, told The Daily Star.

He said the state will file an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court challenging the HC verdict.

The HC bench of Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq delivered the verdict after holding hearing on the death reference (trial court documents) in the case.

On February 1, 2017, the additional district and sessions judge's court-2 of Bogura convicted and sentenced Abul Kalam alias Badsha and Md Mahfuzul to death and sentenced another accused Akhter Hossain alias Aatur to life imprisonment.

All three convicts are now on the run, DAG Amit Das Gupta said, adding that the life imprisonment of Ataur will remain in force as he did not file any appeal with the HC challenging the trial court verdict on him.

SM Shafiqul Islam, the state defence lawyer for convicts in the case, could not be reached for his comments on the issue.