A Dhaka court today awarded death penalty to four people for murdering an elderly woman to steal her gold ornaments in Dohar upazila in 2008.

Judge Ahsan Tarik of the Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka passed the order in the presence of the accused after examining the records and 17 witnesses in the case.

The convicts are Rajon Kha, 47, Shahnaz Begum, 38, Sumon Boyati, 40, and Fazal alias Fazlu, 38. They are residents of Ghata village in the upazila.

The four accused swooped on Ayesha Begum, 70, a resident of the same village while walking in front of her house and took her to another place in the evening of September 13, 2008, according to the prosecution.

As the woman recognised them, they strangled her to death after snatching her gold ornaments of the woman.

The victim’s son filed a case with Dohar Police Station after police recovered the body. Police submitted a charge-sheet against the four to a court on November 17, 2008.