4 sentenced to life imprisonment in Faridpur murder case

A Faridpur court has sentenced four people to life imprisonment in a case over the murder of Hasan Sheikh in Kanaipur of Faridpur Sadar upazila.

The convicts were also fined Tk20,000 each, with an additional one year in prison if they failed to pay the fine.

The court also sentenced them to seven years in prison and fined them Tk5,000 each under Section 201 of the Penal Code, with an additional six months' imprisonment in default of payment.

The court said the time the convicts had already spent in custody would be deducted from their sentences.

Senior District and Sessions Judge Md Sharif Uddin of the Faridpur Special Judge's Court pronounced the verdict at 12pm today (16 August).

The convicts are Farida Begum, Faruk Biswas, Chandu Sheikh and Shahjahan Matubbar, all from Jhaokhola village under Kanaipur Union. Farida is absconding, while the other three were present in court during the pronouncement of the verdict. They were later taken to jail under police escort.

According to the case statement, Hasan Sheikh, son of Imam Uddin Sheikh of Jhaokhola, was killed sometime between the night of 9 May and the afternoon of 13 May 2018 following a dispute stemming from previous enmity.

On the afternoon of 13 May, locals working in a sugarcane field detected a foul smell and informed police. Police later recovered Hasan's body, packed in a sack and buried in the field.

Following the incident, Hasan's father filed a murder case against six people. After examining witness statements and evidence, the court delivered the verdict today.

Public Prosecutor Advocate Shah Md Azizur Rahman Biku said the charges against four of the six accused had been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

"We, the prosecution, are satisfied with the verdict," he said.