Family seeks fresh probe into 22-year-old murder over election candidacy

A top district level leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was abducted and a Tk 2.5 million ransom was collected, yet he was killed. His skeletal remains were recovered two years later.

Testimony from the accused and the investigation linked several other BNP leaders to the murder. However, the investigation officer submitted the charge sheet excluding those BNP leaders named in the statements, along with 24 others.

As a result, the plaintiff filed a petition of dissatisfaction, which the court dismissed before beginning the trial. Even after 22 years, the trial has not concluded. The victim’s family now demands that the case be reinvestigated and the trial restarted.

The deceased BNP leader was Jamal Uddin Chowdhury, a vice-president of the Chattogram South district BNP. He was from Anwara upazila in Chattogram.

On 24 July 2003, he was abducted while returning home from his business establishment in the Chawkbazar area of Chattogram city. Two years later, on 24 August 2005, his skeleton was recovered by RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) from a hilly area in Fatikchhari, Chattogram. A DNA test in Singapore confirmed that the remains were of Jamal Uddin.

The family claims that Jamal was killed because he sought the BNP nomination to contest the parliamentary election.

The case is currently underway in the 6th Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court in Chattogram.

Many of those named in the investigation for their involvement in the killing were excluded from the charge sheet, leading the complainant and the deceased’s son, Chowdhury Forman Reza Liton, to lose hope in the trial. As a result, he is not appearing to give testimony.

Police and court sources said that after the 2003 abduction, the police initially did not take the case, dismissing it as a staged drama. Two years later, based on the family’s complaint, Anwara Sadar’s former UP member Md Shahidul Islam, one of the key abductors, was arrested.

Based on the information he provided, RAB recovered Jamal Uddin’s skeleton in 2005 from the hilly area of Kanchannagar in Fatikchhari. Earlier, following administrative advice, the family had paid the abductors a ransom of Tk 2.5 million, but Jamal Uddin was not released.

In their confessional statements submitted to the court, accused Shahidul Islam and another accused named Mahbub revealed the full details of Jamal Uddin’s abduction and murder.

The statements included the demand for a ransom of Tk 5 million, the receipt of Tk 2.5 million, and the names of all those involved in the abduction.

On 31 August 2005, Shahidul stated in his confession, “I spoke with Jamal Uddin’s family and demanded a ransom of Tk 5 million. Later, Nazim, Helal (currently secretary of Chattogram south district unit BNP) and Amar (deceased) instructed by mobile phone that Tk 2.5 million would be paid.”

The case was investigated for three and a half years by nine police officers. In 2006, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted a charge sheet, acquitting 24 people, including former MP from Anwara, Sarwar Jamal Nizam (currently a BNP candidate for the seat), and his younger brother Maruf Nizam, and 16 others. The complainant expressed dissatisfaction to this.

In 2007, Maruf Nizam obtained a stay order from the High Court, challenging the designation of accused Mahbub as a prosecution witness. When the stay order was lifted in 2011, the accused filed a leave to appeal. The order rejecting it reached the Chattogram court in 2016.

In February 2017, the court accepted the charge sheet submitted by the CID in 2006 and dismissed the complainant’s objection. By then, two of the accused had died. In February of the following year, the trial began with the framing of charges against 14 accused.

Court sources said that out of 84 witnesses in the case, only three have given testimony so far. The last hearing was on 29 October, and as the witness did not appear, the next date is set for 30 March next year.

Of the 14 accused, Shahidul Islam, Abul Kashem Chowdhury, Mahbub and seven others are out on bail. One accused named Rafiq is in jail, while Md Monsur, Md Osman, Ishaq and Yunus remain fugitives.

Jamal Uddin’s younger son, Chowdhury Arman Reza, could not witness the trial for his father’s murder; he passed away last September.

Frustrated that the trial for her husband’s killing has not concluded even after 22 years, Jamal Uddin’s widow, Nazma Akter, told Prothom Alo that the main accused evaded justice during the Awami League government.

She urged that a proper investigation be conducted and the perpetrators brought to justice under the current interim government.

Nazma Akter, further said, “The arrested accused named those involved in the case in their confessional statements, including BNP leader Sarwar Jamal Nizam, his brother Maruf Nizam, and Helal Uddin, secretary of Chattogram south district unit BNP. My husband was killed for seeking nomination in the parliamentary election.”

The complainant, Forman Reza, has spent 14 years going to police stations, courts and administrative offices over his father’s abduction, the recovery of his skeleton, the investigation, dissatisfaction petition and stay orders.

For the past eight years, he has stopped attending court hearings. He told Prothom Alo, “None of the main accused are present. They were all excluded. I have repeatedly filed dissatisfaction petition, but never succeeded, so I have given up going to court.”

Forman Reza further said, “Apart from the confessional statements of the accused, everyone knows who killed my father and why. During the Awami League government, I was made an accused in three cases. Out of fear, I could not take any action then. After consulting with my lawyer, an application will be filed to reopen the investigation of the case.”

Asked about allegations of involvement in Jamal Uddin’s murder, BNP central executive committee member and nominated candidate for Chattogram-13, Sarwar Jamal Nizam, told Prothom Alo, “My name did not come up in the investigation. These are conspiracies by Awami League cohorts.”

Helal Uddin, secretary of Chattogram south district BNP, also denied any involvement in the case.

He told Prothom Alo, “These are all conspiracies against me. My name did not appear in the investigation.”

Lawyers said the complainant can apply to the court for further investigation. During the trial, several high-profile cases, including a 10-truck arms case and a cocaine seizure at Chattogram port, had previously been sent for further investigation.