The abductions
On April 27, 2014, Narayanganj city councillor Nazrul Islam and four people travelling with him were abducted after leaving court. Senior lawyer Chandan Sarker and his driver Md Ibrahim were taken from the same area after witnessing the abduction.
The seven victims were later found in the Shitalakkhya River. This archive does not reproduce the most graphic details of how their bodies were concealed. The central fact is that investigators treated the deaths as a coordinated, premeditated operation rather than an accidental or spontaneous killing.
Who was prosecuted
The prosecution ultimately brought 35 people to trial, including former Narayanganj councillor Nur Hossain and former members of RAB-11. The case alleged that Nazrul was the intended target and that the other victims were killed as part of the same operation.
A disputed allegation that money had been paid for the killings was widely reported. The High Court later noted that no direct evidence of the alleged payment had been found. The page therefore does not state the alleged bribe as an established fact.
The 2017 trial verdict
On January 16, 2017, the Narayanganj District and Sessions Judge convicted all 35 defendants. Twenty-six were sentenced to death, while nine received different prison terms.
Because capital sentences are subject to higher-court review and many defendants appealed, the trial verdict was not the end of the case.
The High Court changes the outcome
On August 22, 2017, the High Court upheld death sentences for 15 defendants. It commuted the death sentences of 11 others to life imprisonment and left the various prison terms of nine additional convicts in place.
The judgment distinguished levels of participation. Nur Hossain and three former senior RAB officers were among those whose death sentences remained. Other defendants received life terms or fixed prison terms based on the court's assessment of their conduct.
Appeals still pending years later
The appellate history remained unfinished long after the High Court judgment. In September 2025, The Daily Star reported that appeals in the Narayanganj seven-murder case were still pending before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, alongside other high-profile criminal appeals.
That means it would be inaccurate to describe the High Court judgment as the final judicial endpoint for every convicted defendant. The file is therefore classified as Partially Adjudicated.
Timeline
April 27, 2014: seven people are abducted in Narayanganj after leaving court or witnessing the abduction.
April 30–May 1, 2014: their bodies are recovered from the Shitalakkhya River.
January 16, 2017: 35 defendants are convicted; 26 receive death sentences and nine receive prison terms.
August 22, 2017: the High Court upholds 15 death sentences, commutes 11 to life imprisonment and keeps the other prison terms.
September 26, 2025: later reporting still lists the Supreme Court appeals as pending and undisposed.
Current status
The killings are extensively adjudicated, but the appellate process is not fully complete in the latest reliable reporting. This archive therefore uses Partially Adjudicated / Appeals Pending rather than implying that every sentence is final.