The two speedy trials for the murder of the young boy Samiul Alam Rajon in Sylhet and the other young boy Rakib in Khulna, will remain outstanding examples in our judicial courts. It is not because the accused have been awarded the highest punishment. After all, many criminals received such sentences in accordance to the criminal code. Just as these two cases created a sensation due to the degree of brutality involved, the speed at which the trial took place and verdict passed, gave the people a sense of relief.
On 8 July in the village Badowali of Sylhet, Kamrul Islam and his associates cruelly killed the young vegetable vendor Rajon, accusing him of theft. They even concealed Rajon’s body after killing him. It was only a few days after the incident that a video of the murder went viral and the public broke out in protest. Three weeks later on 3 August, Omar Sharif, the owner of a motor repair shop in Khulna, killed a young boy Rakib in a most inhuman and cruel manner.
The Sylhet sessions judge yesterday sentenced Kamrul and his four associates to death for the murder of Rajon. The Khulna sessions judge also sentenced Omar Sharif and two others to death for the murder of Rakib. The main accused in the Rajon murder case, Kamrul Islam, had fled to Saudi Arabia, but was brought back on 15 October. The manner in which the investigating officers conducted these murder cases, proves that the officers are not hesitant to perform the duty bestowed upon them. It also shows that fair trial and justice is possible in the shortest amount of time under the existing system.
We hope that the investigations and trial for the recent killings of the publishers, writers, bloggers and all others, will also be conducted with similar speed. Lengthy trials hamper justice. The criminals become even more reckless. After the verdict of the lower courts, we hope that the appeal process goes through with similar speed.