State counsel says: No legal bar to execute convicts of Prof Taher murder case
Staff Reporter :
Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Nowraj Md Russel Chowdhury on Monday said there is no legal bar to carrying out the execution of the two death convicts, including a former teacher of Rajshahi University (RU), for killing RU Professor S Taher Ahmed in 2006.
The state counsel said this as the High Court on Monday dismissed a writ petition filed by convict Jahangir Alam to stay his execution.
A High Court division bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev and Justice Md Ali Reza passed the order after holding hearing on the plea filed recently.
“Now there is no legal bar in carrying out their execution. The court, while passing its order today (Monday), said that as the Appellate Division has scrapped the plea for reviewing its judgement, there is no need to hear this plea,” DAG Chowdhury said.
Prof Taher disappeared on Feb 1, 2006. His body was recovered from a sewage line near his residence on February 3. His son Sanjid Alvi filed a murder case with Motihar Police Station on the same day of that year.
A police investigation submitted a charge sheet accusing six suspects on March 18, 2007.
The six charged were Taher’s colleague Dr Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin, former RU Shibir President Mahbubul Alam Salehi, caretaker at Taher’s residence Jahangir Alam, Jahangir Alam’s brother Abdus Salam, Jahangir Alam’s father Ajumuddin Munshi and relative Nazmul.
Mohiuddin planned Taher’s murder because of a promotion issue in the department and arranged the killing, according to the police report.
On May 22, 2008, a Rajshahi court sentenced four of the accused, Mohiuddin, Jahangir, Salam and Nazmul, to death and acquitted Salehi and Ajumuddin.
The HC in its verdict on April 21, 2013, confirmed the death sentence of the then RU teacher Dr Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin and caretaker at Taher’s residence Jahangir Alam for their involvement in the gruesome murder of Prof Taher.
The HC, however, commuted the death sentence of two other convicts to life term imprisonment. These two convicts are Jahangir Alam’s brother Abdus Salam and brother-in-law Nazmul.
On April 5 in 2022, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the HC verdict. Later two death convicts and lifetime convict Abdus Salam filed separate petitions seeking review of Appellate Division’s verdict.
On March 2, 2023, the Appellate Division dismissed petitions seeking review of its earlier verdict. An eight-member full bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique delivered the verdict.
Sources said the two death convicts sought presidential clemency in the meantime, however, rejected.
