Nusrat murder: Death reference sent to HC Tuesday

The Death reference (approval for death penalty) for the convicted accused in the murder case of madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi will be sent to the High Court (HC) on Tuesday. 

Hafez Ahmed, Public Prosecutor of the Judicial Court, confirmed the information on Monday.

He said that the documents of the case are ready to be sent to the High Court in the form of death reference under Article 374 of the Criminal Procedure Code for death penalty approval. “It is expected to be sent to the High Court by Tuesday.”

According to Article 374, when the Sessions Court declares the death penalty, activities have to be submitted to the High Court Department and the penalty will not be effective unless the High Court Division approves, said PP Hafez Ahmed. 

Shah Jahan Saju, the plaintiff’s lawyer, said the Attorney General’s Office has been instructed by the Law Ministry to hear the High Court on a priority basis for the death reference of the Nusrat murder case.

Notably, Judge Md Mamunur Rashed of Feni Women and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal pronounced death penalty to 16 people and also fined them Tk 1 lakh each and directed to collect the money and give to Nusrat’s family  

The death awardees are — former principal of Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa Md Sirajuddaula, Nur Uddin, Shahdat Hossain Shamim, Sonagazi municipality councillor Maksud Alam, Saifur Rahman Mohammad Jobayer, Jabed Hossain alias Sakhwat Hossain Jabed, Hafez Abdul Kader, Afsar Uddin, Kamrun Nahar Moni, Umme Sultana alias Popy alias Tuhin alias Shampa alias Champa, Abdur Rahim Sharif, Eftekhar Uddin Rana, Imran Hossain alias Mamun, Mohammad Shamim, Vice-President of the Governing Body of Madrasah Ruhul Amin and Mohiuddin Shakil.