A Dhaka court has sentenced five men to death and four others to life imprisonment over the killing of Dr. Nitai, a leader of the Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad (Swachip), more than a decade ago.

Judge Md Rezaur Karim of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-10 handed down the verdict on Sunday (August 17).

The death-row convicts are Kamrul, Bokul Mia, Mintu—also known as Bargira Mintu or Masum Mintu—Hasan Miji, and Saeed Bepari, also known as Abu Saeed.

Four others who got life imprisonment are Saidul, Pyada Masum, Abul Kalam, and Faisal—were sentenced to life imprisonment until natural death. Another accused, Rafiqul Islam, received life imprisonment.

Dr. Nitai, the leader of the then ruling Awami League-supporting Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad, was murdered in his home in the residential area of the Chest Disease Hospital in Mohakhali, the capital, on the night of August 23, 2012.

On the night of the murder, only his elderly mother, a member of the Executive Council of the Bangladesh Medical Association, was with Dr. Nitai in the two-story house. 

His wife Lucky Chowdhury was in Chittagong. The day after the murder, Nitai's father filed a murder case with Banani Police Station.

SMS/