A murder accused was stabbed to death by another right before a judge and police members inside a packed courtroom in Cumilla yesterday.

The dead is Faruk, 26, son of Ohidullah of the district’s Manoharganj upazila. The attacker, Hasan, 26, from nearby Laksham upazila, is his cousin.  The two along with six others were sued in August 2013 for murdering a man in Manoharganj, said lawyers from the court.

Such an incident exposed the lack of security at the court, they said.

Liakot Ali, public prosecutor of Cumilla Third Additional District and Sessions Judge’s Court, said the killing took place around 11:30am when Judge Fatema Ferdous was holding the proceedings in the case.

Faruk and Hasan, both on bail, had arrived at the court earlier in the day.

Md Salauddin, inspector (investigation) of Cumilla Kotwali Police Station, said Hasan brought a sharp knife with him with an intention of killing his cousin. 

Hasan had earlier claimed that he was innocent and that he had been implicated in the murder case because of Faruk, he said.

During the hearing yesterday, Hasan, all of a sudden, started to stab Faruk, who tried to save his life running through the courtroom.

Hasan kept chasing him. 

At one point, Faruk hid under a table, but he was already stabbed in the throat, neck and back, said police and court sources, adding that the incident spread panic at the courtroom. 

Critically injured Faruk was rushed to the Cumilla Medical College Hospital where he was declared dead.

Hasan was arrested along with the knife.

The body was sent to Cumilla Medical College morgue for autopsy.

Meanwhile, a three-member committee was formed to investigate how an accused could bring a knife with him to the courtroom, said Syed Nurul Islam, superintendent of police in the district.