শুক্রবার, ২৬শে এপ্রিল, ২০২৪ খ্রিস্টাব্দ ১৩ই বৈশাখ, ১৪৩১ বঙ্গাব্দ

Abrar murder: 22 accused express no-confidence on judge

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The tribunal has fixed December 6 to hear the matter

Twenty-two accused in Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) student Abrar Fahad murder case, have expressed no-confidence on the judge of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 of Dhaka dealing with the case.

Their lawyers on their behalf submitted a petition on Thursday alleging that the judge did not record their statements properly during cross-examination.

The lawyers will submit an application with the High Court to transfer the murder case, the petition read.

After hearing both sides, Judge Abu Zafar Md Kamruzzaman set December 6 for the next hearing on the petition, but the defence lawyers demanded the case proceedings to be delayed for two weeks.

Aminul Gani Tito, the lawyer of three of the accused – Muntassir Alam Jemmy, Ifti Mosharraf Sakal, and Mehedi Hasan Robin – confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.

According to the petition, the lawyers fear that their clients may not get justice and that is why they want the case to be transferred to another court.

Lawyer Tito said that witness no 33 had already testified and was cross-examined in the case,

“But his deposition was recorded today [Thursday] without informing the defence. So, we think this created a confusion over getting justice for the accused. It caused us to express no-confidence on the judge,” he added.

On September 15, the tribunal started trial in the case against 25 accused. But currently 22 of them are in jail, whose lawyers filed the petition.

Previously, the tribunal recorded statements of 40 out of 60 prosecution witnesses in the case.

Abrar, a second-year student of electrical and electronic engineering department of the university, died after he was brutally beaten by some Chhatra League men at Sher-e-Bangla hall of the university in the early hours of October 7 last year.

The victim’s father Barkatullah filed a case with Chawkbazar Police Station in Dhaka against 19 students of BUET after the murder.

The killing triggered a firestorm of protests on campuses across the country. Amid the protests, Buet authorities on October 11 banned all political activities on the campus and suspended 19 students accused in the Abrar killing case.

On November 13 last year, the Detective Branch of police submitted a charge sheet against 25 Buet students in the case. Of them, 22 accused are now in jail and three have been absconding since the incident took place.