Staff Reporter:
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed yesterday expressed hope that the trial in the murder of sev-enth-grader Ishayat Shahriar Opratim would be completed within a short time, as in the Ramisa murder case.
“The court will conduct the trial. We will extend all-out cooperation by completing the necessary legal procedures and submitting the charge sheet,” he said.
He made the remarks at a press briefing on the contemporary issues at the Home Ministry at the Bangladesh Secretariat here.
The minister said people across the country were deeply shocked by the murder in Cumilla, adding that police recovered Opratim’s body within 24 hours and arrested four suspects within 12 hours.
He said the suspects had confessed to their involvement in the killing.
Salahuddin said some of the suspects appeared to be members of a juvenile crime group and had been acquainted with Opratim.
“They were friends and used to spend time together. Preliminary information suggests they were five to 10 years older than Opratim,” he said, adding that the ages of the suspects were being veri-fied through their national identity records.
The minister said the mobile phone involved in the incident had been recovered from the prime suspect, identified as Tuhin.
“All the evidence has been recovered and they have confessed. Police are now taking further legal steps, including whether their statements can be recorded under Section 164,” he said.
Praising the police, the minister said they had succeeded in arresting all the suspects within 12 hours and recovering key evidence in the case.
Opratim, 13, went out of his home around 3pm on Friday with his mother’s iPhone to take photo-graphs with friends but did not return.
Police later recovered his body from a forested area of the Lalmai hills near Cumilla University.
The Home Minister said the government has taken swift legal action after uncovering heinous crimes, including arresting those responsible and initiating necessary legal proceedings.
