Speedy tribunal case yet to reach closure in 24 years

The sensational murder case of popular Dhallywood actor Sohel Chowdhury, who was shot dead in front of a club in Dhaka's upscale Banani area in 1998, has surfaced once again after the Rapid Action Battallion (RAB) arrested one of the accused, Ashish Roy Chowdhury, on 5 April with bottles of foreign liquor in his possession.

The murder case, which was transferred to a speedy trial tribunal in 2003 for quick disposal, is yet to see through the trial proceeding even after 24 years of the killing.

The uncalled-for incident of the case docket going missing in 2015 put the proceedings to a halt. Court sources claim that the accused, being influential people, were behind the mysterious vanishing of the docket.

The arrest of Ashish Roy Chowdhury aka "Botol" Chowdhury came only after a national daily ran a report titled "Nayok Khuner Mamla Gum" – meaning "Actor murder case disappears".

Even a few days prior to his arrest, he was seen posing for photos with some ministers and influential individuals.

Photo: TBS

Why was Ashish not arrested in 24 years?

On 28 March, Dhaka Speedy Tribunal 2 issued a warrant for the arrest of the fugitive accused. According to RAB sources, Ashish was planning to flee to Canada after the warrant was issued and he even booked a flight for 7 April.

Although the RAB officials claimed that Ashish went into hiding in a Gulshan flat, social media activities including posting of numerous photos hardly suggest he was trying to stay off the grid.

Asked why he was not arrested before when he was very much traceable, RAB's legal and media wing director Khandoker Al Moin told The Business Standard that Ashish was not even a fugitive before 28 March as there was no arrest warrant for him before that date.

"The case was stayed by a High Court order for around 11 years and even the case docket went missing from the lower court.

"How can RAB arrest a free man when there was no warrant or even any court order?" he said.

AKM Shahidul Haque, former inspector general of police, told TBS, "You cannot blame police all the time.

"The case was stayed for years and in this case police cannot be blamed for not arresting the accused earlier."

Where is Aziz Mohammad Bhai now?

According to the RAB sources the man behind the killing is none other than film producer Aziz Mohammad Bhai, who is believed to be in Thailand now, and another accused – his brother-in law Bunty Islam, who is the Trumps club owner, is also residing in Canada or the US. They meet each other in the United Arab Emirates' Dubai and sometimes visit European countries as well.

According to RAB sources, Ashish Roy Chowdhury was going to stay with Bunty Islam in Canada as they were previously friends. Besides, Ashish had a share in the then Trumps club. Two other accused, Sanzidul Islam Emon and Tariq Saeed Mamun, are in prison in different cases and the rest fled the country or on bail.

Why has the case been halted for years?

A day after Sohel Chowdhury's murder on 17 December 1998, his elder brother Towhidul Islam Chowdhury filed a murder case with the Gulshan Police Station. Nine individuals including Aziz Mohammad Bhai, the then top-terror Sanzidul Islam Emon and Trumps club owner Bunty Islam – were named in the charge sheet.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch Assistant Commissioner Abul Kashem Bepari filed a charge sheet against the nine accused on 30 July 1999.

The other accused were Selim Khan, Harun or Rashid alias Leather Liton, Faruq Abbasi, Ashish Roy Chowdhury, and Tariq Saeed Mamum.

Later, on 30 October 2001, the court framed charges against the accused and the case was transferred to Speedy Tribunal-2.

Afterwards, following a petition of accused Adnan Siddiqui, the High Court on 19 November 2003 stayed the proceedings of the trial.

After 12 years, on 5 August 2015, the High Court bench of Justice Md Ruhul Kuddus and Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty reversed the stay order, removing any legal barriers for the case to proceed.

The HC bench also asked the authorities to send the order to the trial court. But the HC order never reached the speedy tribunal. According to police and court sources, the accused used their influence to somehow manage the court employees to prevent the court order from reaching the trial tribunal.

Even the case docket vanished!

According to High Court documents, the six-page ruling and the case docket were sent to the tribunal on 18 October that year.

"To be sent to Speedy Tribunal-2 to take steps immediately," the court record reads. However, the case docket simply disappeared on the way from the High Court to Johnson Road's trial court – which are just two kilometres apart.

Supreme Court's special officer Barrister Saifur Rahman told TBS that he had nothing to do if any case docket goes missing.

In the records of Speedy Tribunal-2, the HC order never reached the tribunal. Shamsul Haque Badal, special public prosecutor of the tribunal, said until Ashish Roy's arrest on 5 April, he did not even know about the 2015 HC order.

"When speedy tribunal cases are stayed like this we have nothing to say," said Towhidul Islam Chowdhury, the plaintiff of the case.

"My brother was a hero. What can we really say when even his case documents disappear?" he said. "I cannot be satisfied until the other accused are arrested and justice is served."