5 get death penalty for killing easy bike driver in Faridpur

A Faridpur court has sentenced five individuals to death for the 2019 murder of easy bike driver Shawkat Mollah.

Judge Maksudur Rahman of Faridpur First Additional District and Sessions Court passed the order on Thursday (July 31).

Those sentenced to death are: Mehedi Abu Kawsar, Jony Mollah, Abu Rasel Sheikh (absconding), Rajesh Ravidas and Robin Mollah.

The sixth accused, Badsha Sheikh of Rajbari’s Moslispur village, received 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, a Tk 10,000 fine, and an additional 10 months in jail in case of non-payment.

According to case documents, Shawkat Mollah, 20, a resident of West Khabaspur in Faridpur city, went missing on the afternoon of November 14, 2019, while operating his easy bike. His body was discovered in a paddy field near Mollabari Road the next morning.

Police later confirmed he had been strangled, and his easy bike and mobile phone were stolen.

Shawkat’s father filed a murder case with Kotwali Police Station on November 16, 2019, against unidentified individuals. Following investigation, charges were brought against the six accused.

State prosecutor Chowdhury Zahid Hasan stated that the court found all accused guilty of kidnapping and murdering Shawkat with the intent of robbery. Except for absconding convict Abu Rasel Sheikh, the remaining five were present in court and later returned to prison under custody.