An era of the Ekramul Haque murder case discussed in Feni, the trial has not ended
Photo Collected
That day was Tuesday. The then Chairman of Fulgazi Upazila and Awami League leader Ekramul Haque was returning to his area in a white private car with his companions from the diabetic hospital in Feni city. Around 11 o’clock, an autorickshaw stopped Ekramul’s car in front of the Bilasi cinema hall on Academy Road in the city. Multiple cocktails exploded immediately. Armed men came out from behind and surrounded the car. Four persons accompanying Ekramul, including the driver, came out to save their lives. The assailants injured them by cutting and beating them; But Ekramul could not get out. Several shots were fired at him inside the car. The attackers then poured petrol on the car and set it on fire, keeping Ekramul inside.
Ekramul Haque lived in Masterpara of Feni city. The village house is in Bandua Daulatpur of Anandpur Union of Fulgazi Upazila. Ekramul was brutally murdered on this day, November 20, 2014. After the murder, the relatives claimed that Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury (Minar), Ekram’s rival candidate in the upazila elections, paid three crore taka for Ekram’s murder; And those who were identified by the RAB-Police as being involved in the murder, most of them are known as the cadre of then Awami League MP Nizam Uddin Hazari.
বিজ্ঞাপন
RAB said at the time that Abidul Islam (Abid), the accused convicted in the murder case, shot Ekram first. His mother Laila Jasmin was the General Secretary of District Women’s Awami League He is the cousin of Nizam Hazari, the then Member of Parliament of Feni-2 Constituency. Ekram’s elder brother, Jasim Uddin, who was killed in the incident, became the plaintiff and filed a case with the police station against 33 other unidentified people, mentioning the name of Mahtab Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury alias Minar Chowdhury, the BNP leader of Fulgazi and Ekram’s rival in the upazila elections. After the investigation of the case, on August 30, 2014, the investigating officer, the then Police Inspector (Investigation) of Feni Model Police Station, Abul Kalam Azad filed a charge sheet against 56 people. During the trial, Sohel, one of the accused in the murder, died in an ‘alleged gunfight’ with the RAB.
Even though an era has passed, the hearing of the appeal of the accused in the murder case has been pending in the High Court for eight years. In the past few years, several benches were formed in the High Court, but the hearing of the case could not be started. Although 39 accused have been sentenced to death by the verdict of the lower court, 16 accused have not been arrested yet. Relatives of deceased Ekram are doubtful about getting a fair trial as a long time has passed since the brutal incident.
বিজ্ঞাপন
According to high court sources, a death reference hearing in the Ekram murder case was scheduled for May 2024 in a bench of the High Court. Justice Md. The case was scheduled for hearing at the end of June that year before a bench comprising Habibul Gani and Justice Ahmed Sohail. The then Attorney General AM Amin Uddin informed the media about this at that time. A few days later, the bench was disbanded after the anti-discrimination student movement toppled the government.
Later in 2025, another bench was constituted to hear the case in the high court. The bench consisting of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasreen Akhter said that the death reference hearing in the Ekram murder case was scheduled for June of that year, but it did not happen, according to Minhajul Haque Chowdhury, the lawyer for the accused in the high court.
Shahjahan Saju, another lawyer for the accused, said, “After the new Chief Justice Zobair Rahman Chowdhury took charge, the death reference hearing of the accused who were sentenced to death for Ekram murder cannot be held as a new bench has not been formed. The hearing will begin when a new bench is constituted. However, it cannot be said at the moment when it will start.
Meanwhile, 16 accused who have been sentenced to death in this case are still absconding. Several law enforcement agencies including the police have received information that some of them have gone abroad.
Abidul Islam Abid, Arman Hossain, Chowdhury Md., the cousin of former Awami League leader Zahid Hossain, former Member of Parliament of Feni-2 Constituency, Nizam Uddin Hazari, are absconding with the death sentence. Nafiz Uddin, Jahedul Hasem, Emran Hossain, Rahat Md. Erfan, Jasim Uddin, Ekram Hossain alias Akram, Shafiqur Rahman, Kofil Uddin Mahmud, Mosle Uddin, Ismail Hossain, Mohiuddin Anich, Md. Bablu and Titu. Eight of them escaped on bail during the trial. Eight other accused are missing from the beginning.
Regarding the absconding accused, Feni Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Gazi Muhammad Fauzul Azim said, Ekram’s murder is a controversial murder. The police are always trying to arrest the fugitive accused who were sentenced to death in this case. They will be arrested if found. However, the police have come to know from various sources that several convicts who have been sentenced to death are absconding abroad. There is intelligence activity about them too.
Among the convicts in the condemned cell with death sentence are the masterminds of the murder (said in the case verdict) Jahangir Kabir Adel, then Joint General Secretary of District Awami League, Abdullahil Mahmud Shiblu, then Councilor of Feni Municipality, Sajjadul Islam Patwari alias Sifat, Abu Bakkar Siddique, Ajmir Hossain Raihan, Shahjalal Uddin, Zahidul Islam Zahid, Kazi. Shanan Mahmud, Mir Hossain Arif, Arif, Rashedul Islam, Sohan Chowdhury, Jasim Uddin, Nizam Uddin Abu, Abdul Qayoum, Nur Uddin Mia, Tota Manik, Ziaur Rahman Bappi, Md. Sajeeb, Mamun, Rubel, Humayun and Tipu. Among them, Ziaur Rahman Bappi was arrested by the police on November 12, 2021.
Prison Superintendent of Feni District Prison. Abdul Jalil said that seven of the convicts sentenced to death in the Ekram murder case are in Feni district jail. The other accused are in various jails including Kashimpur Central Jail, Chittagong and Comilla District Jails.
Even though an era of Ekram’s murder has passed, his relatives still do not want to talk to the media due to fear of the unknown. According to a family source, the deceased Ekram’s wife and three children have been staying in the capital Dhaka since the incident.
Ekramul Haque’s elder brother Mozammel Haque expressed his disappointment as the trial was stalled in the High Court and the accused were not arrested. He said, “The convicts who have been sentenced to death must be arrested immediately. The current government should take initiatives to implement the verdict. Otherwise, justice will be stalled. Ekram’s three children are now studying. We hope that they can see the hanging of their father’s killers.
0%
0%
0%
0%
