A Chittagong court on Thursday framed charges for the second time against 37 persons for their role in the 2003 Banshkhali carnage that left 11 people of a minority community family burnt alive.
The court of the acting Third Additional District and
Sessions Judge Hosne Ara Begum in the second time framed charges Thursday and fixed May 15 for taking depositions after nearly 10 years of the incident.
Public prosecutor Abul Hashem said the court did not frame charge against the prime accused in the case, local BNP leader and chairman of Kalipur union under Banshkhali upazila Aminur Rahman, also a cousin of the then state minister for environment and forest Jafrul Islam Chowdhury as the high court stayed all proceedings against him.
Twenty-three accused including 20 persons who got bail were present in the court dock during the charge framing.
The accused are Abdul Karim, Javed Hossain, Ahammad Mia, Mahbubur Rahman, Mohammad Hasan, Sarwar Uddin, Mohammad Shahjahan, Abu Taiyab, Akbar Ali, Shahjahan, Aminul Hoque, Ahammad Hossain, Matlub, Shafiul Azam, Jashim, Nazrul Islam, Aminul Hoque, Anu Mia, Selim, Bakkar, Rubel, Abu, Oji Ahmad, Aziz, Fazal Kader, Asgar, Jashim, Enam, Ledu, Kamrul Islam, Amir Hossain, Mohammad Yunus, Abul Kalam, Nurunnabi, Rashid Ahmad and Abdul Nabi.
A Chittagong court on September 11 in 2011 framed the first charges against 38 persons including local BNP leader Aminur Rahman for their role in the grisly killings. But on February 26 this year, the state pleader submitted charge sheet against the BNP leader Aminur Rahman on charges of planned killing for occupying property of victims’ family after changing section of penal code.
Eleven members of a minority family of Tejendra Shil were burnt alive at Shilpara under Banshkhali upazila on November 18, 2003.
Only Bimal Shil, son of Tejendra, survived the carnage, jumping out of a first-floor window and breaking one of his legs.
Tejendra, 70, his wife Bakul Bala, 60, their son Anil Kanti , 42, daughter-in-law Smriti Rani, 30, three granddaughters Rumi, 11, Sonia, 7, and four-day-old Kartik were all killed in the arson.
Also killed were Tejendra’s three nieces Bhabuti, 25, Prasadi, 17, and Anny, 15. The other victim was a close relative of Tejendra, Debendra Shil, 75, who had come to visit the family the day before.