Eminent citizens again demand quicker trial

While the government has set an example by trying the murders of teenage boys Rajon and Rakib within three months, the investigation into the murder of Tanwir Muhammed Taqi has not finished in the last three years.

Twenty-two eminent personalities gave the observation in a press statement yesterday and demanded quick submission of the charge sheet of the Taqi murder case.

Taqi, a high school graduate and son of former president of Narayanganj Sangskritik Jote Rafiur Rabbi, was found dead on the bank of the Shitalakkhya on March 8, 2013, two days after he went missing.

Rabbi sued unnamed people on March 8 but later submitted a complaint to Narayanganj's superintendent of police, accusing seven people, including Narayanaganj Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman, his son Ayon Osman, and 8-10 unnamed others, of the murder.

After the case was transferred to the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), they arrested aides of Azmeri Osman, nephew of Shamim. One of them gave a confessional statement to the court in November 2013 detailing Azmeri's link to the murder. 

"The investigating agency of this murder case, Rab, completed the investigation within a year and informed the news media how, when, where, why and who killed Taqi," read the press statement.

"They (Rab) also produced a draft charge sheet before journalists and said it would be produced before the court soon," the statement read. "But three years have passed and no charge sheet has been produced yet."

The statement was signed among others by Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman, Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury, Kamal Lohani, Dr Sanjida Khatun, Prof Hasan Azizul Haque, Mofidul Hoque, Dr Sarwar Ali, and Sultana Kamal.

The statement observed that the accused, according to Rab, were roaming around in public, while many of the arrestees got bail from High Court and left the country.

"For these reasons, questions arise about the government's role and willingness with regards to the trial of the Taqi murder case," said the statement.

The press statement with the signatures of the 22 eminent personalities was issued by Sontrash Nirmul Taqi Mancha and signed by its member secretary poet Halim Azad. 

Rajon and Rakib, both 13, from Sylhet and Khulna respectively were killed by some brutes in July and August last year, and two separate courts sentenced six people to death for the murders in November.