A Dhaka Court has sentenced three people to death for the murder of North South University student Saidur Rahman Payel.
Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 Judge Abu Zafar Mohammad Kamruzzaman delivered the verdict on Sunday.
The convicted are - bus driver Jamal Hossain, his helper Foysal Hossain and supervisor Jonny.
Judge Abu Zafar Mohammad Kamruzzaman on October 4 fixed Sunday to pronounce the verdict in Payel murder case after closing law-point arguments from both sides.
The tribunal also rejected the bail petition of the three accused on that day.
On April 2 last year, a tribunal framed charges against three people including the driver, helper and supervisor of a 'Hanif Paribahan' bus for killing Payel in 2018.
Payel murder
Payel, a fifth semester NSU student and son of Golam Mawla of Halishahar in Chattogram, was found dead in a canal at Bhaterchar in Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj on July 23, 2018.
A case was filed against three people, including the driver, helper and supervisor of ‘Hanif Paribahan’ bus, at Gazaria Police Station the next day.
Jonny confessed to his involvement in the killing after his arrest from Motijheel.
Police later arrested bus driver Jamal and helper Faisal from Arambagh in the capital.
Confessional statement of Jonny
On March 25, 2018, Jonny gave a detailed account of the murder.
He told the court that the Dhaka-bound bus from Chattogram was stuck in a tailback at Bahterchar on Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in the early hours of July 22.
At that time, Payel got down from the bus to respond to the call of nature. As the bus started moving when the traffic jam eased, Payel started running to catch the bus.
The driver eventually stopped the bus but Payel’s head was smashed after it got stuck in the gate and he fell onto the road. He was unconscious and was bleeding profusely from his mouth and nose.
Later, the supervisor informed the bus driver of the situation. After a short discussion, the trio threw Payel into the canal from a nearby bridge around 4:30am while he was still breathing.
Other passengers of the bus could not understand anything as they were asleep.
The autopsy report said Payel drowned after being thrown into the canal.
nh/teb
