Shawdesh desk:

Two death-row convicts in a case filed over murder of Rajshahi University (RU) Professor S Taher Ahmed are set to be executed tonight.

Two convicts are Associate Professor Dr Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin of the same university and deceased’s caretaker Md Jahangir Alam.

Sources said execution of the duo can be held at 10:01pm tonight.

Rajshahi jail authorities have taken all necessary preparedness to this end and held mock execution.

Members of families of the two convicts were called to prisons to have last-moment meeting.

None of the Dr Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin’s family reportedly came to jail till filing of the report while 35 members of caretaker Jahangir met him.

Body of Prof Taher of Geology and Mining Department of Rajshahi University was found two days after he went missing on February 1, 2006.

Two days later, his son Sanzid filed a murder case with Motihar Police Station in Rajshahi.

Rajshahi Speedy Trial Tribunal, on May 22, 2008, awarded death penalty to four people. To others, including former RU Chhatra Shibir president Mahbubul Alam Salehi, were acquitted.

On May 13, 2013, the High Court confirmed capital punishment of Dr Mohiuddin and Jahangir, but commuted punishment of Salam and Nazmul to imprisonment unto death.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court turned down review petitions of the two death-row convicts on March 2, 2023.

An eight-member bench headed by Chief justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order.

In a latest development, the SC has rejected a leave-to-appeal to scrap the verdict of execution of a convict in Rajshahi University Prof S Taher Ahmed murder case.

The four-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, passed the order today.

So, there is no bar to executing the two death row convicts now.

Reasons behind killing

Various reasons including professional jealousy and fundamental politics of Chhatra Shibir in Rajshahi University campus acted behind killing of Prof Taher.

Professional jealousy

Taher was a Professor at the Geology and Mining Department while convict Mohiuddin was an Associate Professor.

In its observation, the court said that convict Prof Dr Mia Mohammad Mohiuddin feared that he would not be able to become a professor if Taher remained alive, and killed him out of professional jealousy.

Fundamental politics of Shibir

However, after Prof Mohammad Yunus, Taher was the second such influential teacher of Rajshahi University to be killed by individuals with alleged links to Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir.