Staff Reporter :
The High Court (HC) has upheld the death sentences of all 20 convicts in the highly publicised murder case of BUET student Abrar Fahad. Additionally, the life imprisonment verdicts for five
others have also been confirmed.
The verdict was delivered on Sunday by the HC bench comprising Justice A.K.M. Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayetur Rahman.
During the announcement, Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman, Deputy Attorneys General KB Rumi, Zahirul Islam Sumon, Noor Mohammad Azmi, and Assistant Attorney General Barrister Sumaiya Aziz were present in court.
On 6 October 2019, the body of Abrar Fahad, a second-year student of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department at BUET, was discovered at Sher-e-Bangla Hall.
Following this, his father filed a murder case at Chawkbazar Police Station.
Upon investigation, police submitted a charge sheet to the court on 13 November 2019 against 25 BUET students.
The charge sheet indicated that the accused had conspired to brutally beat Abrar to death based on false and fabricated allegations of his involvement with the Islami Chhatra Shibir.
The court accepted the charge sheet and framed charges against the accused on 15 September 2020. Subsequently, on 8 December 2021, the trial court sentenced 20 BUET students to death and five others to life imprisonment for their involvement in the murder.
As part of the judicial process, the case was forwarded to the High Court for a death reference review on 6 January 2022. Hearings on the case commenced on 28 November 2023. Following a thorough review, the High Court upheld the lower court’s ruling.
The individuals sentenced to death are Mehedi Hasan Russell – General Secretary of BUET Chhatra League (CE, 13th Batch), Mehedi Hasan Robin – Organisational Secretary (Chemical Engineering, 15th Batch), Aunik Sarkar Apu – Information & Research Secretary (Mechanical Engineering, 15th Batch), Moniruzzaman Monir – Literature Secretary (Water Resources Engineering, 16th Batch), Meftahul Islam Zion – Sports Secretary (Marine Engineering, 15th Batch), Ifti Mosharraf Sakal – Deputy Social Welfare Secretary (Biomedical Engineering, 16th Batch), Muntasir Al Jemi – Member (MI Department), Mozahidur Rahman – Member (EEE, 16th Batch), Hossain Mohammad Toha – Member (ME, 17th Batch), Ehteshamul Rabbi Tanim – Member (CE, 17th Batch), Shamim Billah – Member (Marine Engineering, 17th Batch), Mazedur Rahman Mazed – Member (MME, 17th Batch), Khandakar Tabakkarul Islam Tanvir – Member (Mechanical, 17th Batch), Muhammad Morshed-uz-Zaman Mondal Jisan – Member (EEE, 16th Batch), S.M. Najmus Sadat – Member (ME, 17th Batch), Morshed Amartya Islam – Member (ME, 17th Batch), Mizanur Rahman – Member (Water Resources, 16th Batch), Shamsul Arefin Rifat – Member (Mechanical Engineering), Mujtaba Rafid – Deputy Office Secretary (Chemical Engineering) and S.M. Mahmud Setu – Member (Chemical Engineering).
This verdict reinforces the judicial stance against politically and organisationally motivated violence on university campuses.
