Death of College Teacher by Stalkers

Three PWs withdrawn for being influenced

28 November 2011, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Rajshahi

Three prosecution witnesses, including two college girls who were victims of stalking, were withdrawn from the trial on the murder of Natore college teacher Mizanur Rashid yesterday on allegations of being influenced by the accused. Mizanur, a chemistry teacher of Lokmanpur College in Bagatipara upazila, was attacked by two local youths, Abdul Awal Rajon and Mamunur Rashid, on October 12 for protesting the stalking of the two students of the college. He died on October 24, 2010. The third person is a woman who gave judicial witness before a magistrate in Natore earlier, said Public Prosecutor Entajul Haque Babu. The three were withdrawn following a prayer by Entajul at the Rajshahi Speedy Trial Tribunal 1. “The three prosecution witnesses travelled to Rajshahi from Natore in a microbus hired by the accused and their relatives,” explained Entajul. Moreover, prior to the tribunal's hearing, the witnesses claimed that they did not know the accused and never told Mizanur, their teacher, that the accused used to stalk them, he said. “The accused are very influential in the locality and it appears that the prosecution witnesses were either threatened or were bought off,” said Entajul. The tribunal, on Sunday, declared another prosecution witness, Imam Uddin, hostile after he gave a statement which was inconsistent with an earlier one, he added. Imam, a teacher of the college and Mizan's friend, was present on the spot during the attack, says the case statement. Meanwhile, the tribunal Judge Ekramul Haque Chowdhury yesterday recorded the statements of four prosecution witnesses -- the victim's brother Jamanur Rashid and uncle Mahbubur Rashid and two Brac employees, Bikash Kumar Shorma and Azizur Rahman.