Mitu murder: Court accepts charge-sheet against Babul Akter, six others

A Chattogram court on Monday accepted the charge sheet against former Chattogram Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akter and six others in a case filed over the killing of Babul's wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, according to UNB.

Chattogram's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Abdul Halim accepted the charge-sheet.

Ex-SP Babul Akter filed a no-confidence (naraji) petition against the charge sheet, said additional police commissioner Quamrul Islam, but the court rejected it.

The others accused in the case are—Motaleb Mia alias Wasim, Anwar Hossain, Ehteshamul Haque Bhola, Shahjahan Mia, Quamrul Islam Shikdar alias Musa and Khairul Islam alias Kalu. Of them, Musa and Kalu remain 'absconding' according to police.

But Musa's wife has long maintained that he was picked up by police within weeks of the Mitu killing.

On September 13, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) pressed the charges against Babul Akter and six others in a case filed over the killing of his wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu.

Abu Zafar Md Omar Faruk, inspector of PBI and also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge-sheet to the prosecution unit of the Chattogram court.

On June 5, 2016, unidentified assailants gunned down Babul's wife Mitu at the port city's GEC intersection while she was going to drop her son Mahir Akter, 7, at the pickup spot for his school bus.

Soon after the crime, Babul filed a murder case at Panchlaish Police Station against three unidentified men.

The case was transferred to the Police Bureau Investigation (PBI) in 2019 after Mitu's father, himself a retired police officer, filed a complaint against the CMP's mishandling of the case.

On May 12, 2021, the PBI submitted its final report and arrested Babul Akter in another case filed by Mitu’s father and since then he has been in prison.

Babul Akhter also filed a ‘naraji petition’ against the PBI report on October 14, 2021.

On November 3 last year, a Chattogram Court rejected the final report of PBI in the murder case and ordered it to conduct further investigation.