Ashulia body-burning case: Former MP Saiful sentenced to death
Former Member of Parliament (MP) Muhammad Saiful Islam has been sentenced to death in a crime against humanity case over the killing of seven people, including the burning of the bodies of six, in Ashulia area of Savar during the July mass uprising.
The verdict was delivered today, Thursday, by a three-member International Crimes Tribunal-2, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury.
The other members of the tribunal are judge Md Manjurul Bashid and judge Nur Mohammad Shahriar Kabir.
There are a total of 16 accused in the case. Of them, eight have been arrested and are currently in jail.
They are former ASP of Dhaka district Abdullahil Kafi; former Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Savar Circle Md Shahidul Islam; former Detective Branch (DB) Inspector of Dhaka district police Md Arafat Hossain; former sub-inspectors of Ashulia Police Station Abdul Malek, Arafat Uddin, Kamrul Hasan, Sheikh Abzalul Haque; and former constable Mukul Chokdar.
The remaining eight accused are absconding. Those on the run include former Member of Parliament Muhammad Saiful Islam, former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Dhaka Range Syed Nurul Islam, former Superintendent of Police of Dhaka district Md Asaduzzaman Ripon, former Officer-in-Charge of Ashulia Police Station AFM Sayed, former Inspector Mohammad Masudur Rahman, former Inspector Nirmal Kumar Das, former Assistant Sub-Inspector Bishwajit Saha, and Jubo League cadre Roni Bhuiyan.
During the July mass uprising, on 5 August 2024, the day the Awami League government fell, six people were shot in the Ashulia police station area and their bodies were burned down. One of the victims had been critically injured and was also burned alive. Those killed that day included Sazzad Hossain, As-Sabur, Tanzil Mahmud, Bayezid Bostami and Abul Hossain, among others.
This is the first verdict delivered by International Crimes Tribunal-2. Meanwhile, International Crimes Tribunal-1 has already delivered verdicts in two cases filed over crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising. In one of those cases, on 17 November, ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan were sentenced to death. Another accused in the same case, former IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, confessed and gave testimony as an approver (state witness), and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
Earlier on 26 January, International Crimes Tribunal-1 sentenced former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman and two others to death for crimes against humanity committed in the Chankharpul area of the capital during the July mass uprising. Five other accused were given varying terms of imprisonment.