Mitu murder: Trial against former SP Babul to continue

The High Court today cleared the way for the lower court concerned to run trial proceedings against former Chattogram SP Babul Akhter in the case filed over his wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu's murder.

The HC bench of Justice SM Kuddus Zaman and Justice Shahed Nuruddin also rejected a revision petition filed by Babul challenging charge framing of the case, Deputy Attorney General Sujit Chatterjee Bappi told The Daily Star.

He said there was no legal bar for the trial court to continue the trial proceedings of the case following the HC order. Mitu's father filed the case accusing eight people, including Babul as the prime accused, on May 11 last year.

DAG Sujit Chatterjee said the trial court can take testimony from Mitu's father in the case.

Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir appeared for Babul Akhter during the hearing of the petition.

On June 5, 2016, unidentified assailants gunned down Babul's wife Mitu at the port city's GEC intersection while she was accompanying her son Mahir Akter, then seven years old, at the pickup spot for his school bus.

Babul then filed a murder case with Panchlaish Police Station in Chattogram against three unidentified men.

The case was transferred to the Police Bureau Investigation (PBI) in 2019 after Mitu's father, a retired police officer, filed a complaint against the CMP's mishandling of the case.

On May 12, 2021, the PBI submitted its final report and arrested Babul Akter in another case filed by Mitu's father and since then he has been in prison.