A murder case could have been lodged but not a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act for rape, Advocate Khalilur Rahman argued during the hearing at the death reference bench of Justice Ali Asgar Khan and Justice Emdadul Haque.

Shazneen's father, country's leading businessman Latifur Rahman, filed a case with the Gulshan Police Station at 2:15 on the night of killing although he said his daughter was killed between 8:00pm-10:15pm, pointed out lawyer of other convicts Badal and carpenter Shaniram Mandal.

The lawyer, Advocate Mosharraf Hossain Kajal, went on to manoeuvre the point telling the court that the reason for delay in informing the police was not mentioned in the FIR (first information report).

But the court asked him whether a father would mourn first or rush to the police upon murder of his daughter.

The hearing will also continue today.

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

The three other convicts are Syed Sajjad Mainuddin Hasan alias Azad, a contractor, 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 Hossain, Anisul Haque and Mosharraf Hossain Kajal.