Seven to die on murder charges

Seven individuals have been sentenced to death in two separate murder cases in Sirajganj and Habiganj, according to reports from our correspondents.

In Sirajganj, six robbers were sentenced to death for abducting and killing a vegetable trader in 2017.

The verdict was announced yesterday by District and Sessions Judge M Ali Ahmed.

The convicts -- Khwaza Miah, Enamul, Mojahid, Boshu, Saidul Islam, and Milon Sarkar -- were tried in absentia, having absconded after securing bail. Each was also fined Tk 10,000.

According to the case, trader Nazmul Islam was abducted from Gazipur while transporting vegetables from Naogaon to Dhaka. The kidnappers demanded Tk 50,000 in ransom. His body was later recovered from a ditch in Sirajganj.

Police submitted a charge sheet against seven individuals; one died during the trial.

In Habiganj, a court sentenced Shah Alam alias Taher Uddin, 50, to death for killing his sister-in-law, her daughter, and a neighbour in 2016 over a property dispute.

Habiganj Additional District and Sessions Judge Syed Md Kaiser Mosharraf Yusuf delivered the verdict. Alam was also fined Tk 3 lakh.

According to the case, the victims were stabbed during an argument.