A Bangladeshi lawyer gets justice for his murdered father as four people accused get served life imprisonment and the death penalty after 16 years of the incident.
A Rajshahi Professor Taher Ahmed had gone missing on February 1, 2006. He was found dead in a manhole two days after his disappearance.
A charge sheet was filed against six accused on March 17, 2006.
The 6 accused were Taher Ahmed’s departmental colleague Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin, then president of Rajshahi University Chhatra Shibir Mahbubul Alam Salehi, Taher’s residence caretaker Jahangir, Jahangir’s brother and Chhatra Shibir activist Abdus Salam, their (Jahangir and Abdus Salam) father Azimuddin and Salam’s relative Nazmul.
Taher’s daughter, who was in the first year of law school and did not even want to practice law, decided to get justice for her father after the court granted bail to one of the accused.
Talking to Business Standard Shegufta said that “I came to know that the main accused was released on bail from the High Court. Then after discussing with my mother and brother, I firmly committed to my job as a lawyer. Although it is a criminal case, meaning the state would handle this case, there are options for us to appoint lawyers. But, we did not have that ability. The defendants hired as many as 15 to 20 lawyers. On the other hand, some lawyers helped us on their own.”
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In 2013, two of the accused were sentenced to life imprisonment and two to death by the High Court. However, the convicts then appealed to the Supreme Court challenging the High court’s order.
Shegufta gave 16 years of her life to fight for justice and finally, on April 5 2022, the Appellate Division upheld the verdict of the High Court and sentenced two accused to death and two to life imprisonment.
Shegufta said that “For 16 years I fought for this. I experienced a lot of grief and hardship. In the end, I am satisfied with this verdict.”
