Aminbazar Killing: Death reference reaches HC
The documents of the sensational Aminbazar six-student murder case reached the High Court as death reference in order to examine the trial court verdict that sentenced 13 accused to death in the case.
A Dhaka court on December 2 sentenced 13 people to death and 19 others to life imprisonment for killing six students in Aminbazar, on the outskirts of the capital, more than 10 years ago, an incident that shook the nation.
Twenty-five others were acquitted as their involvement in the killings was not proven.
In the early hours of Shab-e-Barat on July 18, 2011, a mob of villagers killed the six youths near Aminbazar bridge and took their bodies more than half a kilometre away to Keblarchar on the instructions of police.
They then called other villagers and said they caught robbers.
Later, Al Amin -- the only survivor among the students -- was cleared of charges after police found that the victims were not robbers.
Two days after the incident, Al Amin narrated the horrific night to The Daily Star.
He said he along with his friends Towhidur Rahman Palash and Kamruzzaman Kanto offered prayers at Darussalam Furfura Sharif Mosque and met Shams Rahim Shamam, Ibrahim Khalil, Tipu Sultan and Sitaf Jabi Munif at the main road.
The seven decided to have tehari at Gabtoli and took two rickshaws. Reaching there, they changed their mind and decided to spend the night roaming the area. They crossed Gabtoli bridge on foot and went along the Turag river up to Keblarchar.
"We split into two groups and sat by the river. Palash, Kanto and I were together while Shamam, Tipu, Ibrahim and Munif were about 200 yards away. Suddenly, we three heard the other four screaming for help. We thought they were being attacked by muggers or robbers.
"We rushed to help them but found hundreds of villagers beating them indiscriminately while about 50 others were coming to attack us, calling us robbers," Al Amin continued.
"We tried to tell them that we were students, not robbers and had come from Darussalam. But by then, several people swooped on us and started beating us up. I heard the assaulting villagers say they had already killed four of us."
He continued: "Fearing for my life, I grabbed the legs of an elderly man and begged for my life but he kept hitting me. Then I spotted plainclothes policemen with shotguns standing nearby and watching the mob go crazy. I begged them to save my life."
A policeman then stopped the attackers, he said.
"All of your friends are dead and you will be soon unless you agree to say whatever we want you to say," said Al Amin quoting the "saviour" police official as saying.
Al Amin was then sent to a hospital under police arrangement.
The six students lost their lives. Although Al Amin survived the brutal attack, he and the six other victims were accused in a robbery case filed by local trader Abdul Malek.
Later, Al Amin was cleared of the charges after police found that the victims were not robbers.
Following the development, Anowar Hossain, sub-inspector of Savar Police Station, filed a murder case against Malek and several others in connection with the incident.
During the investigation, 14 accused, including Malek, confessed to different magistrates about their involvement in the killings.
A judicial probe body submitted its report on September 8, 2011 saying they had found negligence by police in protecting the students who had gone to Bardeshi village from the capital's Darussalam.
Eight policemen were suspended after the filing of the judicial probe report.
On January 7, 2013, Investigation Officer Sharif Uddin Ahmed, an additional superintendent of police at Rab, pressed charges against 60 people in the case, excluding the eight suspended cops.
The court on July 8 framed charges against the 60 accused.
After 10 years of legal battle, Judge Ismat Jahan of the Second Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka delivered the verdict.
Officials of the Dhaka court concerned brought the documents of the case, including the judgment, to the HC on Tuesday, Supreme Court Spokesman Saifur Rahman told The Daily Star.
If a lower court sentences any person to death in a case, its judgment is examined by the HC through hearing arguments for confirmation of the death sentence.
The case documents and judgment reach the HC as death reference from the lower court after the latter delivers the verdict as per relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).