The family of housewife Sagira Morshed have expressed their discontent with the verdict in the case over her 1989 murder in Dhaka’s Siddheswari and say they will appeal the court’s decision.

”I was only six years old at that time. Dr Hasan Ali Chowdhury and his wife Sayedatul Mahmuda Shaheen were the masterminds behind my mother’s murder, but they were acquitted,” Sagira’s daughter Samia Saba Chowdhury told the media.

“Why were the masterminds acquitted? We’re not satisfied and will file an appeal.”

Dr Hasan Ali was Sagira’s brother-in-law and Sayedatul Mahmuda Shaheen his wife. Besides the couple, the court acquitted Montu Mondal aka Mintu on Wednesday as their involvement in the murder was not proven.

The court sentenced two suspects, Anas Mahmud aka Rezwan, and Maruf Reza to life in prison. In addition to the prison sentence, they were fined Tk 50,000 each. An additional six months will be added to their prison sentences if they fail to pay.

Sagira’s husband, the plaintiff, said the family was not fully satisfied with the verdict. He repeated that they would file an appeal.

“We are satisfied by the verdicts against two of them and unsatisfied by the verdicts against another two. The verdict could have been better. We will appeal it.”

“I believe the legal process still exists. The judge worked under severe pressure but fortunately, he delivered a verdict that was more or less good. However, it could be better,” he said.

Dhaka Special Sessions Judge Mohammad Ali Hossein delivered the verdict in the 34-year-old case on Wednesday.

On Jul 25, 1989, Sagira was fatally shot by a gunman on a motorcycle on Siddheshwari Road as she was picking up her daughter from Viqarunnisa Noon School.

The same day, her husband, Salam Chowdhury, filed a case at the Ramna Police Station against unidentified assailants. After eyewitnesses pointed to Montu and Maruf Reza as participants in the crime, the police took them into custody.

On Nov 10, 2020, Anas, a brother-in-law of the victim, was arrested in Rampura after he was identified by a witness. His confession led to the arrests of Hasan Ali, his wife Sayedatul Mahmuda Shaheen, and Maruf Reza, who all made confessional statements in court later.

WHY THE 'MASTERMINDS' WERE ACQUITTED

Although a 'family dispute' was cited in the indictment, a lack of evidence to substantiate such an assertion at trial led to the exoneration of the three suspects, according to defence counsel Mosharraf Hossain Kajol.

"Throughout the trial, the purported family dispute did not emerge in the evidential stage. The plaintiff did not allude to a family dispute either," he said.

The investigation report by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) suggested tensions between Shaheen and Sagira's family, according to Kajol. Sagira also faced considerable animosity and there was a rift between her and Shaheen over educational qualifications and other issues, the report noted.

However, the plaintiffs failed to provide any evidence pointing to the feud, leading to the acquittals, said Kajol.

"The prosecution's inability to convincingly present the family dispute narrative impacted the verdict. The omission of testimony from the plaintiff's eldest brother further weakened the case, prompting the judge to dismiss the family dispute angle," he added.

Meanwhile, Farooq Ahmed, the plainftiff's lawyer, expressed intentions to appeal the verdict.

"Four people gave confessional statements in the case. Two of them were convicted on the basis of their statements while two others were acquitted as their statements weren't accepted."

"The court should have either accepted or rejected all the confessions. But the court's selective approach seems like an attempt to appease both sides, which we believe is unfair. We plan to challenge this dubious verdict.'"

Montu's acquittal was widely expected based on the indications given by the judge who previously conducted the trial, according to Farooq.

After the testimony of 17 out of 57 witnesses in the case, the lengthy trial ended on Jan 25 following the closing arguments from both the defence and prosecution.

Following a brief delay, the court delivered its verdict on Wednesday, leaving room for an appeal by the plaintiff.