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A court in Rangpur has sentenced one person to death and two others to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Utsho Rahman. Two other accused were acquitted as the charges against them could not be proved.
Rangpur Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mashiur Rahman Khan delivered the verdict on Wednesday (September 2).
The death sentence was handed to Rubel Hemrom, son of Sackle Hemrom of Sheikh para, Bhogaram Bil area.
The two men sentenced to life imprisonment are Elin, son of Shafiqul Islam of Jaldhaka upazila in Nilphamari, and Shuvo Kumar, son of Shankar Mohanta of Khamarpara in Rangpur city.
Jahirun Akter Jui, also known as Gedi, and Ripon Mia were acquitted for lack of evidence.
The accused, lawyers and family members of the slain journalist were present in court when the verdict was delivered.
However, Nurjahan Begum, the plaintiff and mother of Utsho Rahman, expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict.
“We have been deprived of justice. We are not satisfied with the verdict,” she told journalists after the hearing.
She said the family would appeal to the higher court and continue its legal battle to ensure a full trial in the interests of justice.
The murder of Utsho Rahman had remained a widely discussed case for years.
On December 23, 2015, Utsho left the office of daily Juger Alo on GL Roy Road in Rangpur around 9:30pm after completing his duties, telling colleagues that he was going to a relative’s house. He did not return home that night.
The following morning, police recovered his body near the Rangpur-Dhaka highway, close to the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, with his hands and feet tied to a tree.
His mother, Nurjahan Begum, filed a murder case with Kotwali Police Station the same day.