A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced 14 people to 32 years' rigorous imprisonment for killing businessman Kamrul Hassan in Joydevpur upazila of Gazipur in October 2001.
The convicts are Jalal alias Shah Jalal, Nazrul Islam, Moniruzzaman, Babul, Hamid Member, Golam, Shahjahan, Alam, Jamal, Sabur, Biplob, Helal, Kashem and Aminul.
Of them, Babul, Alam, Golam and Jamal have been on the run while other convicts were present at the courtroom during the judgment.
The punishment to the fugitives will be effective from the day of their arrest or surrender, the court added.
On October 9, 2001, a group of criminals, led by Hamid Member, hacked Kamrul, an inhabitant of Pirujali village in Joydevpur upazila, to death over a previous enmity.
On the following day, a murder case was filed against 14 people with Joydevpur Police Station.
After investigation, Joydevpur police submitted a charge sheet to Gazipur Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in February 2002, accusing 21 people in the Kamrul murder case.
The court also acquitted seven others as the charges brought against them were not proved.
Judge Shahed Nur Uddin of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 pronounced the verdict.