Sohag murder in Mitford: Testimony of 3 more witnesses recorded

A Dhaka court has recorded the testimonies of three more witnesses in the trial for the murder of scrap trader Lal Chand, alias Md. Sohag, in front of Mitford Hospital in Old Dhaka. They gave their depositions in the court of Dhaka 1st Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Alamgir Hossain on Thursday (August 13). Afterward, the defense lawyers cross-examined the witnesses.

Following the recording of testimonies and cross-examination, the court fixed August 28 as the next date for taking testimonies in the case. The three individuals who testified are Ismail, Babul, and Hasan. ASM Shahadat Ali, the bench assistant of the concerned court, confirmed the matter.

With this, the testimony of a total of four witnesses in the case has been concluded. Earlier, on August 3, the trial proceedings' testimony phase began with the deposition of the victim Sohag’s elder sister and the plaintiff of the case, Manjuara Begum.

According to the charges in the case, on the evening of July 9, 2025, a group of individuals surrounded Sohag near Rajani Ghosh Lane adjacent to Gate No. 3 of Mitford Hospital, hitting him with stones and hacking him to death with sharp weapons. The next day, July 10, the victim's sister Manjuara Begum filed a case at Kotwali Police Station naming 19 individuals, alongside another 15 to 20 unidentified accused.

Although a chargesheet was initially submitted against 21 people following the investigation, the court ordered a reinvestigation due to flaws in the probe. Later, on May 10 of this year, Kotwali Police Station Inspector Shah Md. Faisal Ahmed submitted a supplementary chargesheet against 21 individuals. The formal trial of the case began on January 12 with the framing of charges against the accused.

Among the 21 accused in the case, 10 are currently in jail, eight are fugitives, and three are out on bail. The deceased Sohag was the son of Yusuf Ali Hawlader from the East Namabari village of Keraniganj. He had long been running a scrap business in the Rajani Ghosh Lane area of Mitford.