Court orders trial in Maulana Farooqi murder case

A Dhaka court on Sunday framed charges and ordered the trial in the murder case of Maulana Nurul Islam Farooqi, an Islamic scholar and popular TV host who was hacked to death at his residence in East Rajabazar in the capital in 2014.

Judge Shahidul Islam of Dhaka Additional Metropolitan Sessions Court-9 passed the order and fixed 6 December for recording witness testimonies, said State Prosecutor Aminul Islam Sarkar.

He said accused Hadisur Rahman Sagar, who is currently in jail, was read out the charges virtually. The discharge petitions filed on behalf of three accused who are out on bail were rejected. 

However, no hearing was held in respect of the other two accused as they remain absconding, he added.

According to the case documents, Farooqi was a follower of Sufi ideology and advocated shrine-based religious practices, while the accused allegedly followed the ideology of a banned militant outfit and opposed such practices.

A faction of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), led by militant leader Jamai Faruk, allegedly planned and carried out the killing over ideological differences. They also allegedly looted cash and valuables from the house after the murder.

Farooqi's son, Faisal Farooqi, filed a murder case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station over the killing ten years after the incident.

The charge-sheeted accused are- Hadisur Rahman alias Sagar, Abdullah Al Tasnim Nahid, Rafiqul Islam Fardin, Abu Rayhan Mahmud Abdul Hadi, Mahmud Ibn Bashar, and Ratan Chowdhury alias Engineer Ripon alias Rakibul Islam Riyaz.