Bangla militants to be executed

DHAKA: A special court in Naogaon district town in Bangladesh on Tuesday sentenced three leaders of the banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) to death in the August 17, 2005 serial bombing case.

The condemned convicts are Abdul Qaiyum alias Bhodu alias Kayes, 25, son of M Abdul Mannan of Puranpur Madhyapara in Niyamatpur sub-district, Minhajul Islam alias Sohel Rana, 18, son of M Abdul Quddus of Kamarkandi village in Sherpur sub-district of Bogra and Abu Sayeed alias Hussain, 24, son of M Shahidullah Sheikh of Sreekol village in Kumarkhali sub-district of Kushtia. Of them, Abu Sayeed was tried in absentia. The court also fined them 10,000 taka each. As part of JMB’s synchronised cross-country bombings on August 17, 2005, seven bombs were simultaneously set off in the District Judge’s Court Building, Collectorate Building, bus terminal, Gostohati crossing and western part of Liton bridge.

After examining the records and witnesses, Judge of District Tribunal Abu Mohammad Jomadar found them guilty of exploding bombs and pronounced the judgment in his crowded courtroom. Earlier, six top leaders of the JMB were given capital punishment for killing two judges of Jhalakati district town.

Those condemned to walk to the gallows were Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh supremo Shaikh Abdur Rahman, second-in-command Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, Abdur Rahman's brother and military operations commander Ataur Rahman Sunny, son-in-law Abdul Awal and suicide bombers Iftekhar Hasan Al Mamun and Khaled Saifullah.

A Barisal court on May 29, 2006 awarded death penalty to the JMB chief and his six comrades in the sensational judges’ killing case. Of them, suicide bomber Asadul Islam Arif has been absconding since the incident took place. Senior Assistant Judges Sohel Ahmed and Jagannath Pandey were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Jhalakati on Nov 14,2005, in the wake of serial bombings across the country.