Prosecution seeks special tribunal for quick trial

The prosecution has demanded formation of a special tribunal in Dhaka for quick completion of the case over the murder of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria as most of the accused are now detained in different jails of the capital, reports BSS.

A grenade attack was carried out in an Awami League (AL) rally at Baidyerbazar in Habiganj on January 27, 2005, killing five people, including Kibria and leaving many others injured.

Two cases, one for murder and another under Explosives Substances Act, were lodged in this connection.

"I personally proposed forming a special tribunal in Dhaka for quick completion of the trial in the Kibria killing case as most of the 10 accused including former BNP state minister Lutfuzzaman Babar in the case are now in different jails in the capital," chief counsel of the state in the case Kishore Kumar Kor told the news agency.

Of the 32 accused, three top accused including Mufti Abdul Hannan, have already been hanged and 12 others including Mayor of Sylhet City Corporation and BNP leader Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Mayor of Habiganj municipality GK Gous are on bail while 10 are behind bars. The remaining seven including former political secretary to Khaleda Zia, Harris Chowdhury are absconding, he said.

"The trial in the murder case is now at the stage of taking deposition of the prosecution witnesses at the Sylhet Speedy Trial Tribunal. Testimony of 43 witnesses out of 171 including the complainant Abdul Majid Khan and some injured people has already been recorded in the case," he added.

"The last date for taking deposition was deferred on August 16 in 2017 as we failed to produce some of the accused including Babar before the court," he said, adding that in some cases, the date was deferred for failure to produce witnesses.