The Sixth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court in Chittagong has delivered a landmark verdict in a murder case that remained under judicial process for twenty-three years. On Thursday, 14 May 2026, Judge Muhammad Ali Akkas sentenced two individuals to death and three others to life imprisonment for the killing of a young man named Ichu Mia. The conviction pertains to a 2003 incident in which the victim was murdered following a dispute regarding a marriage proposal involving his sister.
The verdict was formally confirmed by Maruf Hossain, an assistant at the court office. The judgement brings to a close a protracted legal battle that began over two decades ago in the port city of Chittagong.
Judicial Findings and Sentencing
Following a comprehensive review of the evidence and witness testimonies, the court identified five individuals as being directly responsible for the homicide. The sentencing breakdown is as follows:
Capital Punishment: The two primary defendants, identified as Jamal Uddin and Mohammad Ershad, have been sentenced to death.
Life Imprisonment: Three other accomplices, identified as Mohammad Monir, Alamgir, and Rashed, were handed life sentences.
In addition to their respective terms of imprisonment, the court imposed a financial penalty of 20,000 BDT on each of the five convicts. Failure to remit this fine will result in an additional one-year term of incarceration for the individuals concerned. The court noted that the severity of the sentences reflected the premeditated and brutal nature of the crime.
Background and Motive for the Crime
The victim, Ichu Mia, was a resident of Chittagong who earned his livelihood as a labourer at a fish warehouse in the Bahaddarhat area. According to the case documents and prosecution submissions, the conflict originated from a personal grievance held by one of the defendants, Jamal Uddin.
Jamal Uddin had reportedly expressed an interest in marrying Ichu Mia’s sister and had formally proposed the union. However, Ichu Mia, acting as a guardian within the family structure, declined the proposal. This refusal led to a period of heightened tension, during which Jamal Uddin and his associates allegedly issued multiple death threats against Ichu Mia.
The prosecution argued that the murder was an act of direct retaliation for the rejection of the marriage proposal, carried out to settle a perceived slight against Jamal Uddin’s honour.
Incident Timeline and Legal Proceedings
The fatal assault took place in early 2003. According to the investigation records, the sequence of events concluded as follows:
Recovery of the Deceased: On 8 January 2003, the local police discovered Ichu Mia’s body discarded in a thicket near a cemetery adjacent to the BSCIC building on Sheikh Mujib Road, under the jurisdiction of the Double Mooring Police Station in Agrabad.
Filing of the Case: Following the discovery, the victim’s brother, Kamal Uddin, filed a formal murder complaint at the Double Mooring Police Station. The First Information Report (FIR) named several suspects, including those sentenced in the recent court session.
Investigation and Trial: The investigation faced several hurdles over the ensuing two decades, involving multiple witness depositions and forensic assessments. The case eventually moved through the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s hierarchy before reaching the Sixth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge for the final verdict.
The delivery of this judgement serves as a significant example of the “long arm of the law,” demonstrating that the passage of time does not grant immunity for capital offences. The defendants now have a stipulated period to appeal the verdict in the High Court Division, as is standard procedure for death penalty cases in the Bangladeshi judicial system.