The court sentenced 4 people to death and 10 to life imprisonment in the murder case of Awami League leader AKM Iqbal Azad in Sarail, Brahmanbaria. Chittagong Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal Judge Md. on Wednesday afternoon. Halim Ullah Chowdhury announced the verdict of this case.
The convicts sentenced to death are former chairman of Sarail Upazila Parishad Rafiq Uddin Thakur, Mahfuz Ali, Mokarram Hossain Sohel and Ismat Ali. Ismat and Sohail are father and son.
The accused sentenced to life imprisonment are – Abdul Jabbar, Caesar, Idris Ali, Babu, Harish, Bakul, Liman, Abdullah, Sharif and Mizan.
Ashok Kumar Das, public prosecutor of the court, said that all the other accused have been acquitted.
According to party sources, Sarail Awami League Senior Vice President AKM Iqbal Azad was brutally murdered on October 21, 2012 due to party disputes. In this incident, the then president of Sarail Awami League, Abdul Halim, general secretary. AKM Jahangir Azad, younger brother of Iqbal Azad, filed a murder case against 22 people including Rafiq Uddin Thakur, Joint General Secretary Abdul Jabbar, Organizing Secretary Mahfuz Ali, Upazila Chhatra League General Secretary Hafezul Asad Caesar, Mukti Jodha Commander and Sadar Union Awami League General Secretary Ismat Ali.
According to the police investigation, upazila Awami League vice-president of Akhitara village. 7 people including Sadek Mia get involved. The police issued a charge sheet on December 17, 2012 against a total of 29 people in this murder case. Later, the then upazila Awami League president Abdul Halim and vice-president Md. Sadek Mia died.
Iqbal Azad was an influential leader of Awami League in Sarail Upazila. Iqbal Azad’s wife Umm Fatema Nazma Begum aka Shiuli Azad is currently the general secretary of the three-member partial committee of Upazila Awami League. She was a Member of Parliament for reserved 312 (Brahmanbaria) Women’s Constituency in the 11th National Parliament.