20 sentenced to death in Bangladesh's student murder

A Bangladesh court on Wednesday announced a death sentence to 20 people accused in a sensational student murder case, according to a media report.

Judge Abu Zafar Md Kamruzzaman of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 ordered the death penalty for 20 and jailed five others to life imprisonment in the murder case of the BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) student Abrar Fahad in 2019, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the news agency, the court found all the accused guilty for the murder.

Fahad, a second-year BUET student, died in the early hours of October 7, 2019 after he was brutally beaten allegedly by some leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the ruling Bangladesh Awami League party-backed student organisation, at a hall of the university, Xinhua reported.

The victim was beaten to death reportedly over a social media post. The brutal death of the student sparked protests of students across Bangladesh.

The court in the verdict mentioned that the highest punishment to the accused is aimed at preventing a repetition of an incident of a similar fashion in future, it added.

( With inputs from ANI )