HC upholds life term for five, acquits four

The High Court yesterday upheld the life imprisonment of five convicts and acquitted four others in the journalist Gautam Das murder case.

The bench of Justice AKM Abdul Hakim and Justice Fatema Najib delivered the verdict after hearing appeals filed by the convicts challenging the lower court verdict.

The convicts are: Asif Imran, Siddiqur Rahman Miah, Asad Bin Kadir, Abu Taher Mohammad Mortuza Ahsan and Tamzid Hossain Babu.

Also read: HC verdict on journalist Gautam killing Jan 30

The four acquitted are Asif Imtiaz Bulu, Kamrul Islam Apon, Rajib Hassan Miah and Kazi Murad.

The government will move an appeal before the apex court challenging the HC verdict that acquitted the four accused, said Deputy Attorney General Harun-Ar Rashid.

According to the case statement, on November 17, 2005, assailants killed journalist Gautam Das, then bureau chief of the Bangla daily Samakal, at his office in Faridpur district.

He was killed for running a series of reports based on allegations of corruption and irregularities by the accused.

On June 27, 2013, a special tribunal in Dhaka sentenced nine persons to life imprisonment for killing the journalist. Of them, one is still on the run.

The convicts then filed separate appeals with the HC challenging the trial court verdict.