The mercy petitions submitted to President Mohammed Shahabuddin praying for life by the death-sentenced accused Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin and Jahangir Alam in RU Professor S Taher murder case have been rejected, informed Rajshahi Central jail authorities.
Abdul Jalil, Senior Jail Superintendent of Rajshahi Central jail informed, after the rejection of the mercy petitions by President, there is no incumbrances now to send the two death-sentenced accused of Prof S Taher to gallows.
According to sources, Professor S Taher of the Department of Geology and Mining of Rajshahi University went missing from his campus residence on February-1, 2006. On February-3, his dead body was recovered from inside the manhole outside his residence.
After the recovery of the dead body, Sanjid Ali, son of Prof Taher, filed a case with Motihar police station on February-4. The Investigation Officer of the case SI Achanul Kabir submitted the charge sheet of the case accusing six persons in this connection on March-18, 2007.
The accused were: a colleague of Prof S Taher Associate Professor Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin of the same department (Geology and Mining) of RU, Mahbubul Alam Salehi, the then President of Islami Chhatra Shibir of RU, Jahangir, Superintendent of the residence of Prof S Taher, Abdus Salam, brother of Jahangir and worker of Chaatra Shibir and their father (Jahangir' and Abdus Salam's father) Azim Uddin Munshi and their relative Nazmul.
During the cross-examinations of the accused and statements from the witnesses, it was revealed that Prof S Taher was murdered in his room and his dead body was concealed inside the manhole outside his residence.
After the depositions of 39 witnesses, the Speedy Trial Tribunal awarded the death sentence to Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin, Jahangir Alam, Abdus Salam and Nazmul while accused Salehi and Azim Uddin Munshi were released. Later, the documents of the 'death reference' were sent to High Court for the approval of the order of death sentence of the four convicts.
Meanwhile, the convicts appealed to the high court seeking their release. After the hearing of the death reference and the appeal, the High Court delivered the verdict on April-21, 2013 upholding the death sentence of Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin, a colleague of Prof S Taher and Jahangir Alam, Superintendent of the resident of Prof S Taher.
