Twelve years on, a murder trial yet to start

The charge sheet over the murder of Jubo Dal leader Ariful Sheikh Mohon was submitted twelve years ago, but the trial is yet to start.

The charges are supposed to be framed at the District and Sessions Judge Court in Bogura on April 24 this year, but the date was fixed 83 times before and deferred on each occasion.

Abdul Matin, the public prosecutor of the court, said that there has been no judge at the court for the last two years. An additional judge of the district appears at the court to approve deferment on the date that charges are supposed to be framed.

Even though the situation is likely to be repeated on April 24, Abdul Matin claims that the government will seek charge framing against the accused soon.

It is worth noting that Manjurul Alam Mohon, joint secretary of the Bogura unit of the Awami League, the ruling party, is the brother of Md Ataur Rahman alias Shambhu, a Jubo Dal leader and one of the people accused in the charge sheet.

According to the charge sheet filed on October 13, 2007, almost all the accused gave statements at court confessing to involvement in the heinous crime. Abdul Mannan, who was an inspector of the Detective Branch of police at the time, submitted the charge sheet at court.

According to police sources, Mohon was murdered on November 22, 2006 in the Satmatha area of Bogura town. On that day, two opposing rallies were held by the then Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led alliance and the Awami League-backed Chhatra Oikya.

As per the court documents, a gang of miscreants involved with the BNP-led alliance hid in the Saptapadi Market nearby with machetes and cocktails. Their task was to terrorise the opposing rally.

In the meantime, Ariful Sheikh Mohon, cultural affairs secretary of BNP unit of Ward-1 in Bogura suddenly left the party's rally. Manjurul Alam Mohon, the present leader of Bogura Awami League, was also present at the scene to speak at the opposing rally.

The police investigation revealed that the miscreants mistook BNP's Mohon for the Mohon of Awami League and started attacking him.

He was killed in front of hundreds of people and the killers celebrated over his corpse.

Ataur Rahman Shambhu filed a case accusing 21 activists of the Awami League and its partners for the murder, apparently in a bid to save the criminals of his party and put the Awami League in trouble.

However, in the investigation, police found the accusations to be false and filed a separate case in March 2007. In a fresh investigation, 13 people were found to be involved in the murder, including Ataur Rahman Shambhu, says the charge sheet.

The others accused in the charge sheet include BNP activist Shah Alam alias Cocktail Alam, Chhatra Shibir activist Mizanur Rahman, former adviser of BNP-chief Begum Khaleda Zia and former lawmaker Helaluzzaman Talukder Lalu, former President Rezaul Karim Badsha and former General Secretary Jainal Abedin Chan of BNP's Bogura unit, former presidents of Bogura Jubo Dal Sipar Al-Bakhtiar and Khairul Bashar, as well as, BNP activists Sona Mia, Jakiulla alias Apel and Jelhaj alias Julhaque.

However, Saiful Islam Saiful, former president of the Bogura unit of the BNP and an accused in the charge sheet, has secured a stay order from the high court on court proceedings against him.

It is still not clear whether charges will be framed based on this charge sheet.