HC upholds death sentences for 20 in Abrar Fahad murder case

The High Court has upheld the trial court’s verdict sentencing 20 individuals to death and five others to life imprisonment in the murder case of BUET student Abrar Fahad.

The verdict, signed by Justices AKM Asaduzzaman and Syed Enayet Hossain, was published on Saturday (May 3).

Earlier, The High Court had delivered its judgment on March 16, confirming the trial court’s decision issued on December 8, 2021, by Judge Abu Zafar Md Kamruzzaman of the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1. The court documents, totaling 6,627 pages, were reviewed during the appeal and death reference hearings held between February 10 and February 24 this year.

Abrar Fahad, a second-year student of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at BUET, was beaten to death on the night of October 6, 2019, at Sher-e-Bangla Hall. His father filed a case in the following day. The Detective Branch submitted a chargesheet on November 13, 2019, just 37 days after the incident.

Among those sentenced to death are several leaders and members of BUET's Chhatra League, including General Secretary Mehedi Hasan Rasel and Organising Secretary Mehedi Hasan Robin. The five sentenced to life imprisonment include Chhatra League Vice-President Muhtasim Fuad and Legal Affairs Deputy Secretary Amit Saha.

Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman and other government counsels were present during the verdict, as were lawyers for the accused and Abrar’s family.