A Sylhet court on Wednesday (July 30) sentenced eight people to death and seven others to life imprisonment in the 2021 murder of school student Sumel Ahmed in Bishwanath upazila.

Additionally, 17 more were sentenced two years of rigorous imprisonment each. 

Judge Syeda Amina Farhin of Sylhet Additional District and Sessions Judge Court-3, also acting judge of the District and Sessions Judge Court-1 delivered the order.

The court’s bench assistant Al Amin Rana confirmed the matter.

He said a total of 34 people were charged in the case. Of them, 31 are currently in jail while one of the two-year convicts, Mamunur Rashid, remains absconding.

Death row convicts are, Saiful Alam, 44, his brothers Nazrul Alam, 41 and Sadrul alias Sadar Alam, 43, of Islampur village, Siraj Uddin, 47, Jamal Mia, 49, of Chaitannagar village, Shahin Uddin, 42, of the same area, and Abdul Jalil, 49, of Ganghutia village, and Anwar Hossain of West Ghargarikandi.

Life-term convicts are, Elias Ali, 56, his brothers Abdun Nur, 51, Joynal Abedin, 41, Ashik Uddin, 50, Askir Ali, 49, Mia alias Farid, 46, and Akbar Mia, 44—all from Chaitannagar village. 

The 17 convicts given two years' jail are, Lutfur, Moyur, Mamunur Rashid (absconding), Kawser, Dilafor, Parvez, Wahid, Dilowar, Azad, Muktar, Rakib, Angur, Javed, Shafik, Mokhles, Firoz, and Fakhr Uddin.

At this time, judge also fined each to Tk50,000, with an additional two years of rigorous imprisonment in default of payment.

According to case statement, Sumel Ahmed, a 10th-grade student of Shahjalal High School, was shot dead on May 1, 2021 in the Chauldhani Haor area of Bishwanath during a dispute over land. That day, UK expatriate Saiful Alam attempted to extract soil from land owned by one Nazir Uddin to construct a road. When confronted by Nazir, his cousin Manik Mia, and nephew Sumel, a heated argument broke out. Saiful then opened fire, killing Sumel on the spot and injuring four others, including Sumel’s father and uncle.

Later, Sumel’s uncle filed a murder case with Bishwanath Police Station. 

The case was later transferred to Sylhet District and Sessions Judge Court-1 as case no. 606/2022 for trial. Final arguments concluded on July 13, and the verdict was scheduled for July 30.

On the same day, the court ordered 30 of the accused to be sent to jail. Nearly four years after the murder, the court has now delivered its final judgment.

MSK/