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| Bangladesh |
| Political position, age save them from gallows |
| 2014-02-25 |
| [Dhaka Tribune] The gravity of offences committed by former BNP politician Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu and Awami League ward-level leader Torab Ali in the BDR carnage warranted death penalty. But the court awarded both of them life-term jail sentences considering Pintu's political status and Torab's old age. The Third Additional Judge's Court of Dhaka found the duo guilty of being involved with the killing of 74 people including 57 army officers during the bloody mutiny at Pilkhana in 2009. Pintu, a former president of BNP's student front Chhatra Dal, was also convicted for instigating the massacre while Torab for conspiring. Torab Ali came to know about the mutiny conspiracy on the night of February 24 from Zakir Hossain, owner of Prime Coaching Centre. The BDR soldiers published their leaflets from that tuition home. But despite the knowledge, Torab did not inform the law enforcers or the authorities concerned. Instead, the next day -- that is the first day of the mutiny -- he organised and brought out processions at gates no 1 and 5 of the Pilkhana headquarters. The processions rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud such as "BDR, Janata bhai bhai," (the BDR soldiers and the people are brothers), said the court that handed down death sentences to 151 former members of the paramilitary border security force for killing 57 army officers and 17 civilians during the two-day mutiny. "One of his [Torab's] associates said the BDR men held clandestine meetings at his residence. The BDR men also contacted Pintu before the mutiny. He instigated the rebel soldiers to bring out processions inside the BDR headquarters," the court said in its judgment. The prosecution proved that both of them were involved with the conspiracy. But considering their political profile and old age, they had been given life term sentences instead death, the court said. The court in its judgment on November 5, however, ordered for punitive departmental actions to be taken against CID Special Superintendent Abdul Kahar Akhand, investigation officer in the BDR carnage case, for conducting incomplete probe. Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Third Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court also linked chief public prosecutor Anisul Huq and his deputy Mosharraf Hossain Kajal with the incomplete investigation. Anisul Huq is now the law minister of the Awami League-led government. Kajal was one of the prosecutors of the Bangabandhu murder case as well. "The investigator could not extract [any other] information from Torab apart from the confessional statement [that Torab had given]. He also told the court that none of the witnesses gave deposition against him. If nobody gave deposition, then why did he charge him [Torab]?" the judgment said. The court suspected that the investigator did not record any witness account against Torab out of bias. The judgment against Torab was delivered on the basis of the confessional statement. Meanwhile, ...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. The whole thing smelled phony, kind of like a dead mackeral but without the scales... for Pintu, the court took two witness accounts into consideration. The court also said Pintu was a feared person, especially among witnesses, because of his power and influence in his area. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 ..so I guess the get-out-of-jail card is not just a Kennedy "thing".. |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2014-02-25 14:20 |
| #1 The processions rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud Children. (Mentally, at lest.) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2014-02-25 10:43 |