Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain assigned a High Court bench to hear and dispose of the appeal and death reference of Nusrat Jahan Rafi murder case yesterday. Supreme Court Special Officer Md Saifur Rahman said, the HC bench led by Justice Soumendra Sarker would fix a date now to hold the hearing on the appeal and death reference of the case.

Earlier, Supreme Court authority prepared the paper book regarding this sensitive murder case on a priority basis, he added.

A paper is essential for the HC to hear and dispose of a death reference and an appeal as the book contains all the details of a case, trial proceedings, statements, evidences, verdicts and other  

documents. Once the paper book is ready, an HC bench hears and disposes of its death reference and appeal.

According to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), if a lower court grants death penalty, the verdict is examined by the HC for confirmation of the punishment.

Earlier on October 29, the HC received the death references of the 16 convicts in the Nusrat murder case which contains 2,327 pages of case dockets.

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 at Sonagazi Police Station on April 8. The police pressed charges in court against the 16 accused on May 29.On October 24, the tribunal concerned issued death sentences to all 16 accused for their involvement in the heinous murder. Tribunal judge Mamunur Rashid issued the ruling six months after Nusrat’s murder.

The convicts are madrasa principal SM Siraj-ud-Daula, ex-Awami League upazila unit president Ruhul Amin, Shahadat Hossain Shamim, Nur Uddin, Imran Hossain Mamun, Hafez Abdul Quader, Iftekhar Uddin Rana, councillor Maksud Alam (alias Moksud), Kamrun Nahar Moni, Saifur Rahman Mohammad Zobair, Javed, Umme Sultana Poppy, Mohiuddin Shakil, Mohammad Shamim, Abdur Rahim Sharif, and Absar Uddin.