DOUBLE MURDER

Charges pressed against Rony

Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday pressed charges against Bakhtiar Alam Rony in connection with the shooting deaths of two innocent passers-by in the capital’s New Eskaton area in April.
However, some lawyers who are familiar with the case, on condition of anonymity, alleged that the DB submitted the chargesheet against Rony without getting his confessional statement first, apparently to save him from conviction and punishment. Rony is the son of ruling Awami League lawmaker Pinu Khan.
Talking to reporters, Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of DB, said Sub-inspector Deepak Kumar Das, the investigation officer of the case, submitted the chargesheet against Rony under Section 302 of the penal code.  
Mahamudur Rahman, general recording officer of the court, officially received the chargesheet around 1:25 pm. The court fixed August 13 to decide whether to take the charges into cognizance.
 ‘‘Although the prime accused did not make any confessional statement before the court, we hope that we will be able to prove in court that he was directly involved in the killings,” the DB official said.

“Moreover, we requested the court to make Rony’s three friends and his driver Imran eyewitnesses in the case as they have already given their confessional statements,” Monirul Islam said. There are 37 witnesses against Rony, he added.
In the early hours of April 14, Rony, who was in a drunken stupor, reportedly opened fire from his licensed pistol indiscriminately from his Prado land cruiser, which was stuck in traffic near Dilu Road at New Eskaton.
Two people — rickshaw-puller Abdul Hakim and Bangla-daily Jadnakantha’s auto-rickshaw driver Yakub — were hit with bullets.  
Hakim succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on April 15, while Yakub died on April 23. Hakim’s mother, Monowara Begum, filed a murder case with Ramna police on April 15.
Subsequently, Rony’s driver, Imran Fakir, made a confessional statement on June 1. Rony was then arrested based on his information and taken into police custody for interrogation. Later, he was placed on remand several times.
On June 17, Kamal Mahmood, a friend of Rony’s who was in the car during the incident, gave a judicial statement in the case.
Later, two more friends, who were also in the vehicle, told a Dhaka court that Rony had fired five bullets that killed two persons. Tiger Kamal and Md Jahangir Hossain told the court that Rony had been under the influence of alcohol while they were going to Dhanmondi from Moghbazar.
Rony was annoyed with the tailback created near Dilu Road around 1:45am, ahead of Pohela Boishakh celebrations, and fired the shots indiscriminately, they added.

DOUBLE MURDER

Charges pressed against Rony

Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday pressed charges against Bakhtiar Alam Rony in connection with the shooting deaths of two innocent passers-by in the capitals New Eskaton area in April. However, some lawyers who are familiar with the case, on condition of anonymity, alleged that the DB submitted the chargesheet against Rony without getting his confessional statement first, apparently to save him from conviction and punishment. Rony is the son of ruling Awami League lawmaker Pinu Khan. Talking to reporters, Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of DB, said Sub-inspector Deepak Kumar Das, the investigation officer of the case, submitted the chargesheet against Rony under Section 302 of the penal code. Mahamudur Rahman, general recording officer of the court, officially received the chargesheet around 1:25 pm. The court fixed August 13 to decide whether to take the charges into cognizance. Although the prime accused did not make any confessional statement before the court, we hope that we will be able to prove in court that he was directly involved in the killings, the DB official said. Moreover, we requested the court to make Ronys three friends and his driver Imran eyewitnesses in the case as they have already given their confessional statements, Monirul Islam said. There are 37 witnesses against Rony, he added. In the early hours of April 14, Rony, who was in a drunken stupor, reportedly opened fire from his licensed pistol indiscriminately from his Prado land cruiser, which was stuck in traffic near Dilu Road at New Eskaton. Two people rickshaw-puller Abdul Hakim and Bangla-daily Jadnakanthas auto-rickshaw driver Yakub were hit with bullets. Hakim succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on April 15, while Yakub died on April 23. Hakims mother, Monowara Begum, filed a murder case with Ramna police on April 15. Subsequently, Ronys driver, Imran Fakir, made a confessional statement on June 1. Rony was then arrested based on his information and taken into police custody for interrogation. Later, he was placed on remand several times. On June 17, Kamal Mahmood, a friend of Ronys who was in the car during the incident, gave a judicial statement in the case. Later, two more friends, who were also in the vehicle, told a Dhaka court that Rony had fired five bullets that killed two persons. Tiger Kamal and Md Jahangir Hossain told the court that Rony had been under the influence of alcohol while they were going to Dhanmondi from Moghbazar. Rony was annoyed with the tailback created near Dilu Road around 1:45am, ahead of Pohela Boishakh celebrations, and fired the shots indiscriminately, they added.