Hearing on appeals deferred till March 4

The hearing on appeals filed against the High Court verdict in connection with Awami League lawmaker Ahsanullah Master killing case have been deferred till March 4, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court said yesterday.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the deferment order as all relevant documents required for the hearing were not produced before the bench, said Additional Attorney General Momtaz Uddin Fakir.

On May 7, 2004, gunmen shot and killed Ahsanullah, also then president of Jatiya Sramik League, and Omar Faruq Ratan, a young man, and wounded 17 others.

The next day, Ahsanullah's brother Motiur filed the case against 19 people, including Nurul Islam Sarkar, a Jubo Dal leader.

On April 16, 2005, a Dhaka court handed down death sentences to 22 people and life terms to six others for killing Ahsanullah.

A decade later, On June 15, 2016, HC confirmed death penalty of six persons, including Jubo Dal leader Nurul Islam Sarkar. It, however, commuted capital punishment of seven others to life imprisonment, upheld life term of two and acquitted 11 of the charges against them.

The bench also disposed of the appeals of two other accused as they died during the trial.

Currently, five petitions challenging the HC verdict are pending with the apex court, including those by Ahsanullah's brother Motiur, the government and convicts, the DAG said.

Motiur and the government appealed for death penalty of all convicts, while they [the convicts] sought acquittal from all conviction and sentences, DAG Momtaz added.