Judge, Speedy Trial Tribunal IV of Dhaka yesterday awarded death sentence to three accused including the wife of the deceased in the journalist Nabil Abdul Latif murder case of Keraniganj, Dhaka.
The fugitive convicts are wife of the victim Farhana Sultana Kanak, Shahidul Islam Pappu and Nirzon Mostakin.
The victim, aged about 26, was a cultural reporter the New Age. Convicts Mostakin and Pappu were found guilty under Sections 302/34 of the Penal Code while Kanak was found guilty under Section 120B(1) of the Penal Code. The verdict says that convicts be hanged by neck till they are dead.
However, the convicts may prefer appeal against the judgment within 30 days as per Section 14 of Speedy Trial Tribunal Act 2002. Proceedings of the sansational case will be submitted to the High Court Division for confirmation of the death sentence.
The brief prosecution story is, The two male convicts and the deceased were friends and they brought out a cassette of music together. Pappu and Mostakin used to go to the residence of the victim and Mostakin was maintaining extra marital relation with Kanak. Nabil had suddenly learned about it.
As he tried to stop the illicit relation, on February 2, 2004 accused Pappu and Mostakin beat him. Later they hatched a conspiracy with the wife of the deceased to kill him.
Nabil and his wife Kanak had been lising at a rented house at 5/C Siddheswary of the city. On March 2, 2004 in the afternoon Nabil went out of his residence with accused Pappu and Mostakin and did not return home. Nabil's mother Nihar A Latif heard Kanak talking over telephone and moving hither and thither all the night. The following day on March 3 Pappu and Mostakin came to the residence and talked with Kanak closing her bedroom door.
Nabil's mother asked them about her son, but they did not tell her anything about Nabil.
At this she became frightened and went to her brother's residence at Mirpur. She told her sister and other relations about the missing of Nabil. Meanwhile Kanak left the residence with all articles and goods and on March 4 lodged a general diary with Ramna Thana disclosing that her husband was missing. Meanwhile Pappu and Mostakin had strangulated Nabil to death on March 2 at night at Bamansur Play Ground under Keraniganj Thana. Later Police recover the dead body and filed the Case No 02 (3) 2004 corresponding to GR No 78/04.
While trial was in progress Shamsul Alam, Seventh Additional District and Sessions Judge of Dhaka granted bail to the accused on a off-day in presence of the Public Prosecutor.
Later the sensational case was transferred to Speedy Trial Tribunal IV and the accused went at large.
After two months of the murder, mother of the victim, a staff nurse in a private hospital, died of heart failure, while her husband, who has been in Italy, is reported to be also mentally ill.
Special Public Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam conducted the case on behalf of the prosecution while defence Counsel Advocate Abdul Rashid appeared for the accused.
