BANGLADESH: 5 TO DIE FOR MURDER OF GOPALGANJ TRANSPORT UNION LEADER BASU

January 28, 2026:

A Dhaka court on January 28, 2026 sentenced five people to death for the 2016 murder of Saidur Rahman Basu, a former president of the Gopalganj Motor Workers Union.
The verdict was delivered by Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 Judge Md Rohibul Islam.
The death-row convicts are Bulbul Sheikh, Hedayat Sheikh, Tafsir Sheikh, Kibria Ali Kazi, and Jhantu Sheikh, according to Abdur Rashid Molla, a prosecutor at the tribunal.
Of the 20 convicts in the case, four others were jailed until death and another 11 for life. Two other suspects were minors at the time of the incident and are being tried in a juvenile court. One suspect died before the trial was completed.
Among the convicts, Mintu Sheikh, Kenai Mollah, Alimuzzaman Bitu and Prince Khan have been sentenced to prison until death; while Iqbal Khan, Tutul Sheikh, Roni Sheikh, Akram Ali, Habil Kazi, Bulgan Kazi, Sajib Sheikh, Ponir Sheikh, Shihab Sheikh, Rashed Sheikh alias Rashed Khan and Shawkat Sheikh have been given life sentences.
The court fined the convicts Tk 10,000 each.
Expressing satisfaction with the verdict, the plaintiff's lawyer SM Shariful Islam said: "I hope this verdict will be upheld in the High Court as well."
On the night of 17 February 2016, Basu was headed home to Moulvipara from the union’s office in Kuadanga when he was set upon by a group of attackers who beat him and hacked at him with sharp weapons. He died from his injuries at Dhaka’s National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) the following day.
In this incident, Basu's younger brother Jasu Sheikh filed a case at the Gopalganj Sadar Police Station on February 19.
On July 12, 2016, investigating officer Sub-Inspector Hazrat Ali of Gopalganj Sadar Police Station filed a charge sheet against 23 people.
On Aug 29, 2017, Gopalganj Sessions Judge Md Dalil Uddin indicted the suspects and ordered the case to trial. The case was later transferred to the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 on Aug 16, 2018 for trial and settlement.
Twenty-three witnesses testified in the case. The verdict was announced on January 28 after both sides presented their arguments.