A Dhaka court has framed charges against Awami League's Dhaka South City unit Organising Secretary Ashraf Talukder and 32 other people in a case filed over the killing of AL leader Jahidul Islam Tipu and college student Samia Afrin Prity two years back.
Judge Ali Hossain of the Dhaka Special Judge's Court-3 indicted them on Monday, setting 21 May for the formal trial to begin with the deposition of witnesses, said Public Prosecutor Rafique Uddin Bachchu.
Court sources confirmed that the accused pleaded not guilty and sought justice.

Detective Branch Inspector Yasin Shikder, also the investigation officer of the case, filed the charge sheet against 33 accused, including fugitive top terror Jisan and Manik, on 5 June 2023.
The other accused in the case include Councillor from ward-10 of Dhaka South City Corporation Maruf Ahmed Monsur, Khairul Islam, Juber Alam Khan Robin, Sohel Shahriar, Maruf Reza Sagar, Kamruzzaman Bablu, Kailla Palash, Aminul, Sohel, Sumon Shikder Musa, Shikder Akash, Soikat, Imran Hossain Jitu, Molla Shamim, Rakib, BD Babu, Omar Faruk, Nasir, Rifat, Ishtiak Hossain Jitu, Mahbubur Rahman
Titu, Hafiz, Masum, Rana Molla and Nasiruddin Manik.

Tipu, 54, former general secretary of Motijheel thana Awami League, was shot dead at Shahjahanpur in the capital on 24 March 2022. Samia, a 22-year-old bystander, died when she was hit by a stray bullet. Tipu's driver Munna was also shot.
Tipu's wife Farzana Islam Dolly, a local councillor of the Dhaka South City Corporation, subsequently filed a case against unidentified suspects at Shahjahanpur Police Station the following day.
She alleged that Tipu had received a death threat over the phone a few days before he was killed.

Later, detectives arrested Masum Mohammad Akash as a suspect in the case, describing him as a "contract killer" who had been hired to kill Tipu.
Meanwhile, several Awami League leaders were implicated in a confessional statement given by Musa.
One of the suspects, known as XL Sohail, was not named in the charge sheet as his identity could not be confirmed.
Apart from Musa, Akash and Nasiruddin gave confessional statements in the case.
As many as 26 suspects were arrested at different times. Currently, 20 of them are in jail. At least eight of them are out on bail while six -- Jisan Ahmed Montu, Md Manik, Md Rifat, Md Sohel, Md Aminul, and Md Kamruzzaman -- are absconding.