Hazaribagh Pickup Driver Murder: One Sentenced to Death, Three Get Life Imprisonment
Court sentences one to death and three others to life imprisonment for the 2023 murder of pickup driver Asadul Islam in the capitals Hazaribagh area
A Dhaka court on Wednesday handed down the death penalty to Raju Hawlader for the murder of pickup truck driver Asadul Islam in the capital's Hazaribagh area. In the same verdict, Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge-16 of Dhaka, Nazmun Nahar Lipu, sentenced three other defendants—Anik Hasan alias Shanto, Sajal Mia, and Kawsar—to life imprisonment.
Alongside the capital punishment, the court ordered Raju Hawlader to pay a fine of 50,000 Taka, while each of the three life-term convicts was fined 25,000 Taka. State Prosecutor Khandaker Shafi Newaz Nasir confirmed the judicial outcome to the media following the pronouncement of the judgment.
Raju Hawlader was present in the courtroom during the delivery of the verdict, after which he was sent to prison under a conviction warrant. Meanwhile, the remaining three co-accused have been evading law enforcement and remain fugitives at large.
According to the case dossier, victim Asadul Islam was returning home on the night of June 13, 2023, after finishing his driving shift and parking his vehicle at the Dhaka Tannery Mor in Hazaribagh. At approximately 11:10 PM, as he approached the RS Pump area, unidentified perpetrators launched a knife attack, leaving him critically injured on the street. Bystanders rushed him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment on June 19.
Following his son's tragic death, victim's father Monnaf Mia filed a murder case against unidentified individuals on June 19, 2023. Upon concluding the investigation, Sub-Inspector Kamal Krishna Saha of Hazaribagh Police Station submitted the charge sheet to the court on February 29, 2024, and the court subsequently framed charges against the accused to initiate the formal trial on November 7 of the same year.
Case records revealed that the four convicts confronted Asadul near the RS Pump, demanding that he surrender his mobile phone and valuables. When he refused to comply, Raju stabbed him in the chest, causing him to collapse to the ground before the assailants fled the scene with his mobile phone. Throughout the judicial proceedings, the court recorded testimonies from 16 out of the 21 enlisted witnesses.
