Deputy Attorney General Helal Uddin Mollah started reading the paper book (history of the case) and completed reading the first 20 pages of the over 300-page paper book before a death reference bench of the HC yesterday.

Although over 500 death reference cases still await paper book preparation and death reference hearing in the HC, the paper book of the seven JMB militants' death reference case has been prepared on priority basis for hearing.

A Barisal court on May 29 this year awarded death sentence to JMB chief Abdur Rahman, his deputy Bangla Bhai and five other militants in sensational Jhalakathi judges' killing case.

The others to walk the gallows are JMB Majlish-e-Shura members Ataur Rahman Sunny, Abdul Awal and Khaled Saifullah, suicide bomber Iftekhar Hasan Al Mamun and Asadur Rahman Arif. Of them, Arif is still at large.

None of the seven militants has appealed in the HC against the death sentence.

However, the government has appointed two state defence lawyers to move the death reference case for the seven convicts. The two defence lawyers, Khalilur Rahman Bhuiyan and Salehuddin, were present during the hearing yesterday.

Currently, paper books are being prepared for the death reference cases of 2003. If the paper book for the Jhalakathi case were prepared in the usual manner, HC hearing on the death sentences of the militants would not be held before 2009.