Withdraw order to drop Turjo murder case
Khulna BNP submits memo to home minister
Khulna BNP yesterday submitted a memorandum to the home minister through the deputy commissioner (DC) demanding withdrawal of the order to drop the Jubo Dal leader Omar Faruque Turjo murder case.
The ministry had earlier issued an order for dropping the charges against eleven accused in the case, all of them Jubo League cadres, on political consideration.
Deputy commissioner Jamsher Ahmed Khandaker received the memorandum from president of Khulna City BNP Nazrul Islam Manju, a lawmaker from Khulna-2 (Sadar-Sonadanga) seat of parliament, in the afternoon.
All top ranking leaders of Khulna district and city BNP were present when the lawmaker submitted the memorandum.
Omar Faruque Turjo, joint secretary of Khulna City BNP was beaten to death allegedly by a group of Jubo League cadres on August 6 in 2005 at Maheshwarpasha Club under Daulatpur police station of Khulna city.
Lutfa Akhter Mita, elder sister of slain Jubo Dal leader filed a case the next day accusing 11 Jubo League cadres of murdering Turjo.
It has also been stated in the memorandum that the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an official order last year to exempt all the 11 accused from charges and drop this sensational murder case on political consideration.
BNP leaders further said in the memorandum that the ministry issued the order to withdraw the case when it was under trial at Khulna Court of the Additional District and Sessions Judge after recording of statements of six prosecution witnesses (PWs).
The murder, committed in broad daylight, had no connection with politics but personal enmity. Despite this it was withdrawn on political consideration with strong recommendation of lawmaker elected from Khulna-3 (Daulatpur-Khalishpur) and state minister Begum Mannujan Sufian, according to the memo.
Public prosecutor Kazi Abu Shaheen also played a role causing delay in the trial of the case, BNP leaders further stated in the memorandum.
We want justice in dealing with this murder case and a fair verdict, the BNP leaders said.
They also said in the memorandum that the present government had withdrawn 8,000 cases of different nature on political consideration. We think that withdrawal of these 8,000 cases has led to deterioration of law and order all over the country, they added.
Complainant of the Omar Faruque Turjo murder case Lutfa Akhter Mita received several death threats from the accused, they said adding, all the chargesheeted accused are now moving freely and attending political programmes of the ruling party.
The slain Jubo Dal leader was only son of freedom fighter Yakub Ali Chowdhury of Daulatpur.
Contacted over cell phone yesterday afternoon, Begum Mannujan Sufian said that all the eleven leaders and activists of Daulatpur thana unit of Jubo League were implicated in the murder case falsely and politically as BNP was then in power.
They also made several attempts to include my name also in the case as an accused but failed to do so because of my political reputation and credibility, she said.
All of them are innocent. I know them well and for this reason I recommended their petition for withdrawal of the case against them, the state minister further said.
Turjo was killed as a sequel to their intra-party feud and not by anyone of Jubo League, she added.
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