Blogger Rajib murder: HC upholds convictions

The High Court has upheld the trial court's verdict that awarded death penalty to two people and different terms jail to six others in blogger and Ganajagaran Mancha activist Ahmed Rajib Haider murder case.

The bench of justices Jahangir Hossain and Md Jahangir Hossain handed down the verdict on Sunday after hearing death references and appeals of the convicts.

Earlier on November 7, the hearing on the appeal petitions and death references of the convicts were began.

On February 15, 2013, Ahmed Rajib Haidar, also an activist of Ganajagaran Mancha, was stabbed to death near his house at Mirpur Palash Nagar in Dhaka.

On March 19, 2015, a Dhaka court indicted eight people -- Shaikhul Hadith Mufti Jasimuddin Rahmani, chief of Ansarullah Bangla Team, former students of North South University (NSU) Faisal Bin Nayeem alias Dipu, Maksudul Hasan alias Anik, Mohammad Ehsan Reza alias Rumman, Nayeem Sikder alias Irad, Nafir Imtiaz, Sadman Yasir Mahmud and Redwanul Azad alias Rana in the murder case.

The court on December 31, 2015, sentenced two people to death for the murder while six others to different jail terms.

The death-row convicts are Faisal Din Nayeem alias Dwip and Redwanul Azad Rana while Maksudul Hasan Anik got life term. Of them, Redwanul is still on the run.

Jail terms of ten years each were awarded to Ehsan Reza, Nayeem Irad and Nafij Imtiaj. Convict Saddam Yasir Mahmud has got 3 years in jail while militant leader Mufti Rahmani got a 5-year prison term.

Later, seven convicts filed separate petitions challenging the lower court order.