HC acquits wrongly convicted Kamrul

Publish | 29 Jan 2021, 17:34

Online Desk

The High Court (HC) today acquitted Mohammad Kamrul Islam, wrongly accused and sentenced to 15-year imprisonment for a crime he never committed, and asked the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to take departmental action against the people behind the botched investigation.

A High Court division bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order, declaring absolute a rule it had issued in this regard.

“The court has scrapped his conviction warrant and ordered ACC to scrutinize the mistake and take departmental action against the accused people. The court also ordered fresh investigation into the matter and ordered the anti-graft body to consider, if this victim pleads for compensation,” ACC counsel Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan told newsmen.

Minhazul Haque Chowdhury and Bijoya Barua moved the case for victim Kamrul, while Deputy Attorney General Md Sarwar Hossain stood for the state.

Noakhali Special Judge Court on November 26, 2014, sentenced Md Kamrul Islam from Noakhali’s Purba Rajarampur to15-year imprisonment and fined him Taka 10 thousand in a case lodged for taking admission in Maijdee Public College by making fake SSC certificate and mark sheet.

In reality, the then Anti-Corruption Bureau wanted to file the case against Kamrul Islam of Pashchim Rajarampur, but made mistake while filing the case and made it Purba Rajarampur. The anti-graft body’s investigation officer on November 28, 2013, filed the charge-sheet, keeping the wrong address and accusing the innocent Kamrul Islam of Purba Rajarampur.

Police, however, in its report pointed out the mistake, but the lower court concerned pronounced the judgement based on the documents submitted by ACC. Later victim, Kamrul filed the writ with the High Court, saying that he was only 8 during the committing of the crime.

After holding primary hearing on the writ, the High Court on November 5, 2020, issued the rule, asking authorities concerned not to harass or arrest Mohammad Kamrul Islam for next six months based on the conviction warrant issued by the lower court.

Source: BSS