Ahsanullah killing: HC verdict on acquittal of 11 stayed

The Supreme Court has stayed the High Court (HC) verdict on the acquittal of 11 accused acquittals in former Awami League lawmaker Ahsanullah Master murder case.

The Chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice Hasan Foyez Siddique ordered the stay till July 14 on Tuesday morning.

The HC on June 15 confirmed the death penalty of six persons, including a central Jubo Dal leader, for killing Ahsanullah Master, a decade after a trial court sentenced 22 people to death and six others to life term for the 2004 murder.

The HC commuted capital punishment of seven others to life imprisonment, upheld life term of two and acquitted 11 of the charges against them. It disposed of the appeals of two others as they died during the trial of the much-talked-about political killing.

Gunmen killed Ahsanullah, a freedom fighter, and Omar Faruq Ratan, a student, in a staccato burst of fire on a rally of Swechchhasebak League, a pro-AL body, at Noagaon near the MP’s house in Tongi on May 7, 2004.