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On 9 December 2012, Biswajit Das was a 24-year-old tailor from Dhaka, Bangladesh was murdered by members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the governing Awami League party.[1] On that day, there was a nationwide road blockade called by the opposition 18 Party Alliance. That morning, Das was on his way to his shop, Amantron Tailors at Shankhari Bazaar in Old Dhaka, when one or more small bombs exploded near an anti-blockade procession of BCL activists from Jagannath University.[2][3][4]
| Murder of Biswajit Das | |
|---|---|
| Part of Violence of Bangladesh Chhatra League | |
| Location | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Coordinates | 23°48′15″N 90°24′55″E / 23.80417°N 90.41528°E |
| Date | December 9, 2012 (aged 24) |
| Injured | Death in result of blood loss and blunt force trauma |
| Victim | Biswajit Das |
A group of them mistook Das for an opposition supporter and chased him from near Bahadur Shah Park into a nearby building.[3] They attacked him with machetes, iron bars, and hockey sticks.[2] Das attempted to escape, but fell down at Shankhari Bazar Road. A rickshaw-puller took Das to Mitford Hospital, where he shortly died of his wounds.[3]
The daytime murder was captured live on television and appalled the nation.[1][2] Within days, Jagannath University expelled three students and cancelled the certificates of two others for alleged involvement in the murder. The following week, they expelled four more.[5]
By 25 December, seven suspects were in police custody.[6] An eighth man was arrested on 26 May 2013. The eight were among twenty-one indicted on 2 June for Das' murder. All were activists of the Jagannath University unit of the BCL.[2] Their trial started on 14 July.[7] All twenty-one were found guilty on 18 December 2013. Eight were sentenced to death and thirteen were sentenced to life in prison. Thirteen, including two of those sentenced to death, were convicted in absentia and, as of August 2017, have not been apprehended.[4][8][9]
In its 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the United States Department of State cites Das' murder as an example of political violence in connection with general strikes in Bangladesh.[10]
Trial and sentencing
edit| Serial | Name of Accused | Court Verdict | Appeal Verdict | Current Status[11][12] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saiful Islam | Death Sentence | Acquitted (11/07/2017) | Free |
| 2 | Kaiyum Mia | Death Sentence | Acquitted (11/07/2017) | Free |
| 3 | G M Rasheduzzaman alias Shaon | Death Sentence | Life Imprisonment | Incarcerated |
| 4 | Mahfuzur Rahman alias Nahid | Death Sentence | Life Imprisonment | Incarcerated |
| 5 | Imdadul Haque alias Emdad | Death Sentence | Life Imprisonment | Incarcerated |
| 6 | Rafiqul Islam alias Shakil | Death Sentence | Death Sentence | Incarcerated |
| 7 | Rajan Talukder | Death Sentence | Death Sentence | Fugitive |
| 8 | Nure Alam | Death Sentence | Life Imprisonment | Fugitive |
| 9 | A H M Kibria | Life Imprisonment | Acquitted (11/07/2017) | Free |
| 10 | Golam Mostafa | Life Imprisonment | Acquitted (11/07/2017) | Free |
| 11 | Khondaker Yunus Ali | Life Imprisonment | Incarcerated (31/10/2022) | |
| 12 | Tareq Bin Zohar Tamal | Life Imprisonment | Incarcerated (25/06/2018) | |
| 13 | Alauddin | Life Imprisonment | Incarcerated (15/07/2022) | |
| 14 | Obaidul Kader Tahsin | Life Imprisonment | Fugitive | |
| 15 | Imran Hossain | Life Imprisonment | Incarcerated (10/08/2021) | |
| 16 | Azizur Rahman Aziz | Life Imprisonment | Fugitive | |
| 17 | Al Amin Sheikh | Life Imprisonment | Fugitive | |
| 18 | Rafiqul Islam | Life Imprisonment | Fugitive | |
| 19 | Monirul Haque Pavel | Life Imprisonment | Fugitive | |
| 20 | Kamrul Hasan | Life Imprisonment | Fugitive | |
| 21 | Mosharraf Hossain | Life Imprisonment | Fugitive |
References
edit- ^ a b "Biswajit Murder: HC verdict on Aug 6". The Daily Star. July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "21 BCL men indicted". The Daily Star. Jun 3, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Eight to die for Biswajit murder, 13 get life". bdnews24.com. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Bangladesh sentences eight students to death for murder". LiveMint. Agence France-Presse. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ "JnU expels 4 more". bdnews24.com. 20 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ "7th Biswajit killing accused on police remand". bdnews24.com. 25 December 2012. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ "Biswajit Killing Case: HC order rejected". Dhaka Tribune. 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ "Bangladesh sentences eight students to death for murder". BBC News. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
- ^ "8 Awami activists get death for murder of Hindu man". The Hindu. PTI. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
- ^ "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012: Bangladesh". U.S. State Department. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ বিশ্বজিৎ হত্যা: মৃত্যুদণ্ড থেকে রেহাই ছয় ছাত্রলীগ নেতা-কর্মীর, হতাশ বিশ্বজিতের পরিবার [Biswajit Murder: Six Chhatra League Leaders and Activists Spared from Death Sentence, Biswajit’s Family Disheartened]. BBC News বাংলা (in Bengali). 6 August 2017. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ বিশ্বজিৎ হত্যাকাণ্ড: ২ জনের মৃত্যুদণ্ড বহাল, ১৫ জনের যাবজ্জীবন [Biswajit Murder Case: Death Sentence Upheld for 2, Life Imprisonment for 15].[permanent dead link]