After 27 years, charges have finally been established in the murder case of Aheduzzaman Chanchal, the former President of the Central Students' League. On Wednesday, the Khulna Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court mandated the formation of these charges.
Following several delays, the hearing regarding the charge formation took place on October 22. The High Court had ordered the reconstruction of the missing documents related to the high-profile Chanchal murder case. However, the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of these documents remain unclear to this day.
On October 18, 1998, Aheduzzaman Chanchal, who was then the Vice President and District President of the Central Students' League, was murdered. The victim's mother, Begum Badrunesa, lodged a murder complaint at the Khulna Police Station on October 19, naming five individuals: Mohan, Ruku, Moin, Khokon, and Mithu, all of whom are listed as having unknown fathers. The case underwent investigations by various departments and multiple officers.
The last charge sheet was submitted by KMP DB Police Inspector SMA Rumi on April 12, 2001, implicating seven individuals: Akhter Jahan Ruku, Moin Jamaddar, Rawshan Jamil Mithu, Abdur Razzak, Zahidul Islam Lavlu alias Babu, Eklas Ali Mohan, and Imtiaz Hossain. Subsequently, in 2003, a review case numbered 243/2003 was initiated in the District Judge's Court. After resolving that case, the file was transferred to the Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in 2006. The documents were received by the then Metropolitan Magistrate's PA, Kazi Shamim Hossain, but unfortunately, they went missing from his custody. At that time, Kazi Shamim Hossain, the then GRO of CMM, was held accountable for the loss of these documents. An investigation committee was established, yet the findings of this investigation have not been disclosed to date.
Despite numerous efforts, the original documents have not been recovered. Ultimately, on May 8, 2014, Khulna Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Zakaria Hossain sent a letter to the High Court Registrar requesting the reconstruction of the Chanchal murder case under case number 1853. In response to that letter, the Khulna CMM Court commenced the process of reconstructing the document as directed by the High Court. The CMM Court documented the testimonies of the police, the plaintiff, witnesses, and even the accused. Meanwhile, two of the accused listed in the charge sheet, Iftikhar Ahame and Eklas Ali, have passed away. The plaintiff, Begum Badrunesa, has also died. Ultimately, on December 22 of last year, Khulna Metropolitan Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Anisur Rahman approved the charge sheet prepared by the police.
At present, the Chanchal murder case is being heard in the Metropolitan Ayra Judge's Court as Sessions Case No. 137/25, with a GR number of 1314/98 and a case number at Khulna Police Station of 33, dated 19-10-98. The case is based on Section 302/34 of the Penal Code. It has been reported from the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court that a hearing was conducted on the framing of charges on October 22.
However, the judge ordered the framing of charges against the five surviving accused in the case on Wednesday. It has been noted that the Metropolitan Sessions Judge completed his final duties in Khulna yesterday, Wednesday.
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