A Dhaka court has handed down the death penalty to five men found guilty of the robbery and subsequent murder of an auto-rickshaw driver in Keraniganj. The victim, identified as Mukul Hossain Chocolate, was killed during the theft of his vehicle in 2020. The final verdict was delivered on Thursday, 30 April 2026, by Judge A.B.M. Ashfaq-ul-Huq of the Dhaka Additional District and Sessions Judge’s 1st Court.
In addition to the capital sentence, the court ordered each of the five convicts to pay a fine of 10,000 BDT. Conversely, the court acquitted five other individuals who had been implicated in the case, citing a lack of evidence to prove their involvement beyond reasonable doubt.
Identity of the Convicts and Judicial Status
The five individuals sentenced to death by hanging are:
Ferdous (also known as Barek or Bhatija)
Sohel (also known as Jewel)
Shahin Howlader
Sumon (also known as Al Amin)
Kabir
During the proceedings, Shahin Howlader and Ferdous were brought to the courtroom from prison. Following the reading of the verdict, they were returned to jail under fresh conviction warrants. The remaining three—Sohel, Sumon, and Kabir—had been out on bail and had registered their presence through their lawyers earlier in the day. However, they were absent when the judge announced the sentence. As a result, the court declared them fugitives from justice and issued immediate warrants for their arrest alongside the sentencing orders.
As per the standard legal procedure in Bangladesh, the case documents must now be forwarded to the High Court Division for a mandatory death reference. The executions cannot be carried out until the High Court formally approves the trial court’s decision.
Timeline of the Crime and Investigation
The events leading to the trial began on 27 June 2020. Mukul Hossain Chocolate, a resident of the Keraniganj area who earned his living as an auto-rickshaw driver, departed his home at approximately 2:30 pm for work. Concerns grew when he failed to return by 10:00 pm, and his family found his mobile phone switched off.
On the morning of 28 June 2020, the South Keraniganj Police discovered Mukul’s body on the road near the Barta Bridge along the Konakhola-Rajabari route. His throat had been slit. Following the discovery, the victim’s younger brother, Abu Hanif, initiated a criminal case at the South Keraniganj Police Station.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) took over the enquiry. On 24 November 2022, the investigating officer, PBI Sub-Inspector Mohammad Anwar Hossain, submitted a formal charge sheet naming the suspects. The investigation revealed that the killers had targeted Mukul solely to seize his auto-rickshaw. The vehicle was eventually tracked down and recovered from a garage in the Dhaka Uddan neighbourhood of Mohammadpur.
Trial Details and Witness Testimony
The formal trial commenced on 2 April 2024, when the court framed charges against the ten original suspects. Over the course of the hearings, the prosecution presented 15 witnesses out of a scheduled 26 to testify before the court.
The testimonies, combined with the evidence gathered by the PBI regarding the recovery of the stolen vehicle and the forensic analysis of the crime scene, were instrumental in establishing the guilt of the primary five defendants. The court noted the premeditated nature of the robbery, which resulted in the loss of life of a transport worker.
While the acquittal of half the defendants indicates the court’s scrutiny of individual culpability, the imposition of the maximum penalty for the remaining five underscores the gravity of the crime. The case will now proceed to the appellate stage as the High Court reviews the sentencing.