Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami former Assistant Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam and 10 others to two years’ imprisonment in an arson case filed with Motijheel Police Station in November 2010.
Metropolitan Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury of Dhaka delivered the verdict in presence of Azharul Islam on Tuesday.
The ten other convicts are on the run. They went into hiding after getting bail in the case. They are- Mobarak Hossain, Hasan Al Mamun, Abu Taher Mesbah, Jahangir, Ibrahim, Saiful Islam, Jarif, Abul Kashem, Ashrafuzzsaman and Redwan.
The punishment of the fugitives will be effective from the day of their arrest
or surrender, the court said in his judgment.
Azharul Islam, who was earlier sentenced to death for the offences against humanity and 10 others were sentenced to six months for unlawful gathering while 18 months for torching vehicles during a programme on November 13 of 2010.
The court fined them Tk 2000 each, in default they will have to serve 14 days more in the prison.
Defense counsel Abdur Razzaq told the media that the convicts were sentenced to one and a half years of imprisonment under section 435 and six months more under section 143 of the Penal Code.
The court acquitted seven others as their involvement with the incident was not proved.
Earlier, the prosecution and the defense submitted their arguments and the court recorded depositions of 4 prosecution witnesses, including the complainant of the case.
According to the prosecution, it was alleged that a group of Jamaat leaders and its front organizations led by Azhar brought out a procession in front of Malibagh’s Sohag Paribahan and torched vehicles during the hartal (shutdown) at about 5:05pm.
After the incident, police filed a case against Azhar and 17 others with Motijheel Police Station in November of 2010. After an investigation, Sub-Inspector Md Habibur Rahman pressed charges against Azhar and 17 others on June 30 of 2012.
On November 30 last year, the court framed charges against the accused of the case.
