The paper book of the much-talked-about death reference of Nusrat Jahan Rafi murder case is now ready for hearing. Supreme Court (SC) special officer Md Saifur Rahman said the Bangladesh Government Press (BG Press) had already sent the printed copy of the paper book on Nusrat murder case to the relevant High Court (HC) death reference section.

Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain will now assign an HC to hear and dispose of the appeal and death reference of the convicts, he added. Supreme Court (SC) sources said that the authorities concerned had prepared the paper book of the sensitive murder case on a priority basis.  A paper book contains all the details of a case, trial proceedings, statements, evidence, verdicts, and other documents. Once it is ready, an HC bench hears and disposes of the death reference and appeal of the relevant case.

According to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), if a lower court awards the death penalty, the verdict is examined by the HC for confirmation of the punishment. On October 29 last year, the HC received the death references of 16 convicts in the Nusrat murder case which contains 2,327 pages of case dockets. On October 24, the tribunal concerned had issued death sentences to all the 16 accused for their involvement in the heinous murder of the 19-year-old madrasa student from  Feni. Tribunal judge Mamunur Rashid issued the ruling six months after Nusrat’s murder.

On April 6, Nusrat, an Alim examinee of the Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa, was set on fire by people loyal to the madrasa principal, Siraj-ud-Daula, after she refused to withdraw a sexual harassment case filed against him. Nusrat suffered over 80 per cent burns and died four days later on April 10 at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. The incident sparked nationwide outrage and public demand for swift justice against the perpetrators. A case was filed with Sonagazi police station on April 8. The police pressed charges in court against the 16 accused on May 29.