The defence lawyers of the six death sentenced convicts in their argument denied the allegation of her being raped and said she had died earlier.

The HC Death Reference Bench of Justice Ali Asgar Khan and Justice Emdadul Haque heard the arguments, which will continue today.

The lawyer of accused Shahid said the two confessional statements that his client had given under section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in two cases did not have similarities.

The two cases were filed after Shazneen, a student of Scholastica, was killed at her Gulshan residence on April 23 in 1998. Her father Latifur Rahman, chairman of Transcom Group, filed a case with Gulshan Police Station on that night while police during their investigation filed another case under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act later.

The convicts are Shahidul Islam alias Shahid, a domestic help, Syed Sajjad Mainuddin Hasan alias Azad, a contractor, Badal, the contractor's assistant, Shaniram Mandal, a carpenter, and housemaids Estema Khatun Minu and Parveen.

The Second Special Tribunal for Prevention of Women and Children Repression, Dhaka on September 2, 2003 ordered the six to be hanged till their death for the murder.

Additional Attorney General Razzak Khan, Deputy Attorney General ABM Waliur Rahman Khan and Assistant Attorney General Zinat Akhtar Nazli Begum, advocates Mohammad Nazmul Haq and Sahara Parvin moved the case for the prosecution.

State-appointed lawyer Khalilur Rahman defended for the accused, while other defence lawyers were advocates Khandakar Mahbub Hossian, Anisul Haque and Mosharraf Hossain.