A Chattogram court has sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the murder of Md. Palash, which occurred nearly 17 years ago in the city's Baklia area.
Md. Tajul Islam, Judge of the Fifth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Court of Chattogram, delivered the verdict on Monday (June 29).
The convicts, Mahmudul Hasan (alias Sohel) and Ayub Ali (alias Babul), were tried in absentia. The court has issued arrest warrants against them.
Alongside life imprisonment, the convicts were fined Tk 50,000 each. Failure to pay will result in an additional six months of imprisonment.
According to court bench assistant SM Kawsar Sagar, the court reached the verdict after examining 14 out of 16 witnesses.
Case records show that on August 27, 2009, the convicts lured Palash to the fourth floor of the Jamal Building on DC Road due to prior enmity and murdered him. The victim's brother, Md. Samrat, filed a murder case with the Baklia Police Station the following day.
Following a police investigation, the court framed charges on November 12, 2012. The case was initially handled by the Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal before being transferred to the Fifth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Court for the final verdict.
