Bangabandhu killing: death warrant issued for Abdul Majed

A Dhaka Court today issued death warrant for Captain Abdul Majed in connection with the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members.

Judge Md Helal Chowdhury of District and Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka issued the order after the prosecution submitted two separate petitions -- one for showing him arrested and the other for issuing the death warrant.

At first, the court showed Majed arrested in the case as he had been absconding since the case was filed in 1996.

Later, the judge issued the death warrant and also read it out to Majed, who was present on the dock.

During the hearing, Majed told the court that he was not involved with the murder.

After passing the orders, the court sent Majed to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj with the death warrant. Jail authorities will again read out the death warrant to him once it reaches the jail, said Mosharraf Hossain Kajol, one of the prosecutors.

The death sentence will be executed between 21 and 28 days of issuing the death warrant, Kajol added.

Dhaka District Public Prosecutor Khandakar Abdul Mannan submitted the petitions after receiving the order sheet from the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Majed's arrest.

Although all the courts across the country have been declared closed till April 14 due to the outbreak of coronavirus, District and Sessions Judge Md Helal Chowdhury, as per the instruction of the Supreme Court, opened his court today only to hear the petition.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Dhaka yesterday sent Abdul Majed to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj after a team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police detained him from the capital's Mirpur.