Murder of Ghulam Rabbani
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The murder of Ghulam Rabbani refers to the "sensational" murder of Commodore Ghulam Rabbani, an aide-de-camp to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Chittagong in 2004.[1][2][3] He was a vital witness to the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Jail Killing cases.[4] He served as the chairperson of the Chittagong Port Authority.[5]
Background
Rabbani was an aide-de-camp to the founding President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[5] He was the director general of the Department of Shipping.[5] He was an eyewitness in the murder case of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was killed in the 15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état.[5] He was also a witness of the Jail Killing in which four senior leaders of the Awami League were killed.[5]
In 1999, Rabbani was the chairman of Chittagong Port Authority.[6]
Rabbani was appointed the managing director of the Korean Export Processing Zone, sister concern of Korean Youngone Corporation, in Chittagong.[5] He had terminated two employees of the Korean Export Processing Zone and began a corruption investigation against them.[5]
Incident
Rabbani was travelling to Korean Export Processing Zone on a microbus on 11 April 2004 when he was shot after the bus was intercepted by six to seven people.[5] They also robbed his colleagues in the bus.[5] The site engineer of the Korean Export Processing Zone, AKM Emtajul Islam, filed an attempted murder case.[5] Rabbani died in Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok 13 days later.[5] The attempted murder case was then turned into a murder case.[5]
Trial
Judge M Hasan Imam of Chittagong Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal sentenced Abdul Malik Sohel, Mohammad Hashim, and Mohammad Selim to life imprisonment in the murder case on 7 April 2005.[5] Abu Naser Chowdhury, former general manager of Korean Export Processing Zone, and Humayun Kabir Chowdhury, former chief security officer of Korean Export Processing Zone, were sentenced to five years imprisonment.[5] Judge M Hasan Imam was critical of Faruk Ahmed, assistant commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, who was the investigation officer for an improper investigation and ordered a copy of the investigation to be sent to the Inspector General of Police for action against the police officer.[5] Some of the accused were connected to Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir.[7]
Mohammad Hashim was acquitted by the High Court Division in 2008 while the other accused had secured bail in 2005.[5] Abu Naser Chowdhury, Humayun Kabir Chowdhury, and Mohammad Selim were given life term in 2014 by the High Court Division which also ordered a review of the acquittal of Saiful Islam by the lower court.[8][9] The High Court Division acquitted Abdul Malik Sohel and Mohammad Hashim.[10]
Abu Naser Chowdhury and Mohammad Selim surrendered to the court and were sent to jail by Judge Muhithul Haque Enam of the Chittagong Speedy Trial Tribunal in December 2016.[4] In 2020, former High Court Division judge Nazrul Islam Chowdhury filed a bail application for Abu Naser Chowdhury on health grounds to the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court.[10] The chief justice, in a four-member bench, ordered his treatment at a government hospital and return to prison after treatment but denied his bail application.[10][11]
Saiful Islam was found innocent in the first trial was found guilty in a second trial.[8] Judge Md Robiul Alam of the Chattogram Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal found him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment on 22 September 2023.[8][12]