Bail prayers of 5 accused rejected

A Habiganj court yesterday rejected the bail prayers of five accused in the case for murder of four children in Bahubal upazila in February this year.

The accused are Rubel Mia, 18, Jewel Mia, 20, Shahed Ahmed, 32, Saleh Ahmed, 30, and Bashir Mia, 48, of Sundrateki village in the upazila.

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Habiganj Senior Judicial Magistrate Kawser Alam fixed May 25 for hearing on the bail petitions.

Inspector Muktadir Hossain of Habiganj Detective Branch (DB) Police pressed the charges against nine of the accused on April 6.

On February 17, the bodies of Monir Mia, 7, Zakaria Shuvo, 8, Tajel Mia, 10, and Ismail Mia, 10, who had gone missing from Sundrateki village on February 12, were found from a Balu Mahal at the village.

Police said Abdul Ali of the village had a longstanding dispute with Panchayat leader Khaleque Master over establishing supremacy in the locality.

Abdul Ali and auto-rickshaw driver Bachchu, who was expelled from the Panchayat following a dispute with Khaleque, made a plan to kill Aziz or his son Tajel Mia as Aziz was a close aid to Panchayat leader Khaleque.

According to the plan, Bachchu tactfully took the four children on his auto-rickshaw on the evening of February 12 from near a playground.

After a while, Rubel, Arju and other accused joined Bachchu and drugged the kids to make them unconscious.

They strangled the boys inside the three-wheeler, kept their bodies at Bachchu's garage and later buried them under sand.