Nine charged with killing 4 Habiganj kids

Detectives yesterday pressed charges against nine people in the case filed in connection with the killing of four schoolboys in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj in February.

The four boys were the victims of enmity between two groups in local Panchayat (village arbitration council), according to the charge sheet submitted to Judge Kawsar Alam of the Court of Senior Judicial Magistrate, Habiganj.

The accused are Abdul Ali, 60, who allegedly ordered the killing, his two sons Rubel Mia, 18, and Jewel Mia, 20, and Habibur Rahman Arju, 25, Shahed Ahmed Bashir, 32, Billal Mia, 30, Ustar Mia, 48, Babul Mia, 45, and Bachchu Mia, 32.

They all are residents of Sundrateki village of the upazila. Of them, Billal Mia, Ustar Mia and Babul Mia are on the run, while Bachchu was killed in a “gunfight” with the Rapid Action Battalion in Chunarughat upazila of the district on February 25.

Five others are now behind bars, according to police.

The four children -- Monir Miah, 7, Zakaria Shuvo, 8, Mohammad Tajel Mia, 10, and Ismail Miah, 10 -- went missing from Sundrateki village on February 12. Five days later, their bodies were found buried under the sand around a kilometre away from their village.

Monir, Shuvo, and Tajel were cousins and students of class-I, -II and -IV respectively at Sundrateki Government Primary School. Ismail was studying at a local madrasa.

The killing of the four minors created a huge outcry in the country. Visiting the village, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz said the perpetrators of the killings would be tried in a special tribunal.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also directed the authorities concerned to build houses for the families of the four children.

A murder case was filed with Bahubal police in this connection accusing 11 people.

Muktadir Hossain, inspector of Detective Branch of police in Habiganj, yesterday pressed the charges against nine of the accused.

He prayed to the court to discharge Basir Ahmed, 28 and Saleh Ahmed, 30, from the case as their involvement was not found during the probe. He also asked Bachchu be discharged as he had died during investigation.

The court fixed April 10 to decide about taking the charges into cognisance, Muktadir said.

Sahidul Islam, an additional superintendent of police in Habiganj, told a press conference that Abdul Ali had a longstanding dispute with Panchayat leader Khaleque Master over establishing supremacy in the locality. Abdul Aziz, father of Tajel Miah, was known as a close aide of Khaleque.

Bachchu, who was a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver, was also a supporter of Khaleque. However, he was expelled from the Panchayat following a dispute with Khaleque.

Later, Abdul Ali along with Bachchu made a plan to teach Khaleque a lesson and targeted Abdul Aziz first. They decided to kill Aziz or his son to take revenge on the Panchayat leader, said the additional SP.

Rubel and Bachchu planned to abduct Aziz's son Tajel from a football match scheduled for February 12. However, the match was abandoned due to rain.

Bachchu later tactfully took the four children on his auto-rickshaw that evening from near the playground. Later, Rubel, Arju and other accused joined him and drugged the children to make them unconscious.

They then strangled the children inside the three-wheeler and kept their bodies at Bachchu's garage. Later, they buried the bodies under sand.

Expressing satisfaction over submission of the charge sheet, Abdul Aziz demanded quick trial.

“We want their [culprits'] death penalties,” he told The Daily Star over the phone.