BCL activist murder: All 114 Jamaat-Shibir men acquitted

A Rajshahi court yesterday acquitted all 105 accused linked to Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir in connection with the murder of Rajshahi University Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activist Faruque Hossain.

Judge Julfiker Ullah of Rajshahi Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court-1 delivered the order.

State counsel Ali Ashraf Masum said the court acquitted all the accused as the prosecution failed to prove the allegations brought against them.

Among the 114 accused, nine died during the trial proceedings, while the remaining ones were cleared of all charges. Only 25 of the 105 surviving accused were present in the dock during the verdict.

Faruque Hossain, a student of the Mathematics Department and an activist of the then-banned BCL unit at Rajshahi University, was killed during a clash between BCL and Islami Chhatra Shibir members at Shah Makhdum Hall on February 8, 2010. His body was recovered from a manhole the following day.

Mazedul Islam Opu, then general secretary of the banned BCL unit, filed a case with Motihar Police Station against 35 identified Jamaat-Shibir men and 20–25 unidentified others.

On July 28, 2012, police submitted a chargesheet, accusing 114 people, including then Jamaat ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee, former Rajshahi city Jamaat ameer Ataur Rahman, RU Chhatra Shibir president Shamsul Alam Golap, secretary Mobarak Hossain, Nawab Abdul Latif Hall president Hasmat Ali, and Shaheed Habibur Rahman Hall president Raizul Islam.