The Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-2 on Thursday sentenced three people, including film producer and businessman Aziz Mohammad, to life imprisonment on charges of killing actor Sohel Chowdhury in 1998.
Judge Arunabh Chakrabarty of the tribunal handed down the verdict in the absence of the three convicts in the case filed 25 years ago with the Gulshan police station.
Two other convicts are Trumps Club owners Afakul Islam, alias Bunty Islam, and Adnan Siddiqui. The three convicts were also fined Tk 2 lakh each, or an additional month in jail in default.
On December 17, 1998, actor Sohel was shot dead by some unidentified criminals in front of the Trumps Club in the capital鈥檚 Banani.
The court acquitted six accused, including listed top terror Sanzidul Islam Emon, as the prosecution failed to prove the allegations against them.
The other five acquitted accused are Ashish Roy Choudhury, alias Bottle Chowdhury, Tariq Sayeed Mamun, Faruque Abbasi, Selim Khan, and Harun-Or-Rashid, alias Leather Liton.
Expressing disappointment, the court, in its verdict, said that the case documents for the murder had disappeared, while the prosecution witnesses did not give testimony properly. 鈥楾he witnesses who did testify displayed bias and attempted to conceal the truth,鈥� the court observed.
The court said that the victim, Sohel, was not a stranger. 鈥楬e was shot dead, but witnesses tried to hide the truth during testimony. Sohel had previous animosity with Aziz Mohammad Bhai,鈥� said the court.
鈥楾he magistrates who recorded the statements of the witnesses were not produced before the court. People cannot wait for judgement forever, and the soul of every dead person wants justice,鈥� said the court.
A total of 11 witnesses, including the driver of the actor Sohel, died, while the prosecution failed to produce 12 witnesses.
Only 10 out of 33 prosecution witnesses testified in the case. Of the witnesses, three did not testify supporting the murder charges, leaving the state forced to declare them hostile witnesses.
鈥榃e could not produce the 12 witnesses despite arrest warrants issued by the court, as we did not find them,鈥� said public prosecutor Sadia Afrin.
Metropolitan Sessions Judges Court public prosecutor Abdullah Abu said that they would decide on whether to appeal against the acquittal of six people once they get a copy of the full verdict.
Imamul Hossain Firoz, the state-appointed lawyer for Aziz Mohammad Bhai, said that his client did not get justice.
Lamia Chowdhury, daughter of Sohel Chowdhury and actress Parveen Sultana Diti, said the judgement could hardly compensate for the damage the murder caused to her life.
鈥楳y father will not come back. They [criminals] have to answer for what they have done,鈥� she told reporters.
鈥楾he impact my father鈥檚 death has had on my life will not change in any way. I have to live with reality,鈥� she added.
After the murder of the popular film actor on December 17, 1998, the Detective Branch of police revealed in their investigation that hired killers took his life due to a conflict with businessman Aziz Mohammad Bhai, Trumps Club owner Bunty Islam, and Ashish Roy Chowdhury.
DB submitted a charge sheet on August 2, 1999, while on October 30, 2001, the trial started against the accused.
The High Court stayed the trial when one of the accused filed a petition against the trial proceedings.
The trial resumed in 2022, 23 years after murder, after the court vacated its stay order in the case filed by the victim鈥檚 brother, Touhidul Islam Chowdhury.
