The High Court today said an innocent person serving jail sentence instead of a convicted one for the sake of money is unfortunate.

The bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim made the observation during hearing an appeal filed by a Kulsuma Akhter, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case, challenging her conviction handed by a lower court.

Minu Akhter, now 33, from Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram, has been in jail since 2018 instead of convicted Kulsuma Akhter from Lohagora upazila of the same district in connection with a case filed for killing one Kohinur Begum.

Today, the bench asked Attorney General AM Amin Uddin to place his arguments on this issue tomorrow. 

During the hearing, Minu Akhter's lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir prayed to the HC to direct the authorities concerned to conduct a judicial enquiry in order to find out how Minu Akhter was allowed to serve a jail sentence instead of convicted Kulsuma Akhter and who are responsible for the incident and to release Minu Akhter from jail instantly.

He also urged the HC to order the law enforcers to arrest Kulsuma Akher immediately and to ask the jail authorities to introduce biometric fingerprint system for the purpose of properly identifying the exact convicted or accused persons.

Shishir Manir told The Daily Star that Minu Akhter's husband Babul Sheikh is a vagabond and she has two sons and a daughter. Her sons and daughters were present at a Chattogram court on March 22 during the proceedings of the case, he said.

On March 24, the documents from the Chattogram court regarding the issue reached the HC for its decision.

Earlier on March 22, the court of Chattogram's 4th Additional Metropolitan Session Judge Shariful Alam found that Minu Akhter has been serving in jail since 2018 instead of convicted Kulsuma Akhter in connection with the case filed for killing one Kohinur Begum.

Kohinur, an apparel worker, was killed in her rented house in port city's Rahmatganj area on July 9, 2006 following an altercation over a mobile phone.

A case was lodged over the murder with Kotwali Police Station and police arrested one Kulsuma Akhter and sent her to jail in 2007. She later walked out of jail on bail.

On November 30, 2017, a court in Chattogram sentenced her (Kulsuma) to life-term imprisonment in absentia after trial.