Charges framed against three in Jobaid murder case; testimony on December 9

A court has framed charges against three accused in the murder case of Md Jobaid Hossain, a student of Jagannath University and a member of the convening committee of the university unit of Chhatra Dal. With this, the formal trial of the case has begun. The court also fixed December 9, 2026 as the date for recording testimony in the case.

On Sunday (November 8), Judge Muhammad Mazharul Islam of the 15th Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court in Dhaka conducted the charge-framing hearing in the case.

After the hearing, the court framed charges against accused Barjis Shabnam Barsha, Md Mahir Rahman and Fardin Ahmed Aylan under sections 302 and 34 of the Penal Code.

During the hearing, lawyer A Al Mamun Russell, appearing for accused Barsha, said his client had been accused of abetting the murder. But although 44 witnesses gave statements in the case, none of them mentioned his client’s involvement.

He said the investigating agency also failed to present proper evidence for the allegations that she gave money to buy the knife used in the murder or that she informed the accused of the location. On these matters, the investigating officer only gave a statement, he said.

He further said his client had no involvement in Aylan’s murder. She had gone to the scene because her friend Mahir had called her there. Mahir had told her that the victim would only be frightened; no plan to murder him had been mentioned to her. She cannot be charged with murder merely for going there at a friend’s call, he argued, and he prayed that his client not be punished on the basis of the charges brought against her.

On the other hand, state lawyer Zahir Hossain Khan said the three accused had worked together in a planned manner to kill the victim. He said charges should be framed against them and the trial proceedings should begin.

Plaintiff’s lawyer Md Ishtiaq Hossain Jipu said the three accused had planned the murder in collusion about one month beforehand. The investigation revealed their planned involvement in the murder, he said, and he prayed for charges to be framed against the accused.

After hearing both sides, the court framed charges against the three accused. At the same time, the court rejected the time petitions filed on behalf of Aylan and Mahir. December 9 was fixed for recording testimony in the case.

After completing the investigation, Sub-Inspector Md Ashraf Hossain of Bangshal Police Station submitted the charge sheet to the court on June 30. In the charge sheet, Jobaid’s student Barjis Shabnam Barsha, her boyfriend Md Mahir Rahman, and Mahir’s friend Fardin Ahmed Aylan were accused. The charge sheet mentioned that the investigation had revealed a love triangle.

According to the case statement, Md Jobaid Hossain used to give private tuition alongside his studies at Jagannath University. On October 19 last year, at around 4:30pm, he went to Roushan Villa, holding number 15 on Nur Box Lane in Armanitola, Old Dhaka, to teach his student Barsha.

That evening, at around 5:48pm, the student sent a message on Messenger to Saikat, a junior of Jobaid at the university, informing him that Jobaid sir had been murdered. Later, at around 7pm, Kamrul Hasan, a student of Jagannath University, informed Jobaid’s brother Enayet Hossain about the matter over the phone.

Enayet then went to the scene on a motorcycle with his brother-in-law Sharif Mohammad at around 8:30pm. While going up from the ground floor, they saw bloodstains on the stairs and walls. Later, they found Jobaid’s bloodied body lying face down on the stairs beside a room on the east side of the third floor.

On October 21, the deceased Jobaid’s elder brother Enayet Hossain Saikat filed a murder case at Bangshal Police Station as the plaintiff. After the investigation, the charge sheet was submitted to the court about nine months later.