Relatives of Jahangir Alam, one of the death row convicts in the case filed over the killing of professor S Taher Ahmed of Rajshahi University, went to the Rajshahi Central Jail to meet him at around 12:45 pm on Tuesday. However, no one from the family of Miya Mahiuddin, the other death row convict in the case, came to meet him.
Speaking to the relatives in front of the prison, it has been learned that around 40-45 people came to meet Jahangir Alam. They were called up by the authority to meet with the death row convict for the last time through a letter on Sunday.
The relatives had to submit a photocopy of their national identity cards before entering the prison. Among the relatives who came to meet Jahangir Alam are his father Azim Uddin, his elder brother Sohrab Ali and younger brother Mizanur Rahman. They live in Khojpur area in Rajshahi city.
Earlier, the Appellate Division rejected the leave-to-appeal petition to scrap the verdict of execution of the death row convicts in professor S Taher Ahmed murder case.
Meanwhile, a source in the prison said all the officials, who are supposed to be present during an execution, were there in the prison. They were in a meeting.
Prothom Alo tried to reach Abdul Jalil, senior jail superintendent of Rajshahi central Jail, over the phone but he did not respond. Later, this correspondent tried to contact Rajshahi civil surgeon Abu Sayeed. He also did not respond.
S Taher Ahmed, professor of geology and mining department at the Rajshahi University, was killed on 1 February, 2006. Police recovered his body from a septic tank behind his residence on the university campus on 3 February that year. His son Sanjid Alvi Ahmed filed the case with Motihar police station on the same day.
Rajshahi Speedy Trial Tribunal on 22 May, 2008, sentenced the four accused to death and acquitted two others. The High Court, after holding hearings on the death reference and appeals of the convicts, upheld the verdict of the lower court.
The court however, commuted the death sentences of Jahangir's brother Md Abdus Salam and brother-in-law Md Nazmul.
On 22 February, 2022, the apex court started hearing on the appeals filed by the convicts challenging the HC verdict against them. The Appellate Division on 5 April, 2022, upheld the High Court verdict. However, the court commuted the death sentence of Nazmul Alam and Abdus Salam to life in prison.
The jail authority received the court verdict on 5 July. The jail authority said after that the provision is to execute the death row convict within 21 to 28 days of receiving the court verdict. Therefore, the two convicts could be executed by the end of this month, they said.