The Murder of Samiul Alam Rajon

The killing in Sylhet

Sheikh Mohammad Samiul Alam Rajon was 13 years old. On July 8, 2015, he was attacked in the Kumargaon area of Sylhet after men accused him of stealing a rickshaw van. Reporting from the investigation stated that police found no evidence supporting the theft allegation.

The assault was filmed and the footage was later circulated online. The publication of the video produced widespread public outrage and demonstrations demanding accountability. This archive does not embed, reproduce or describe the graphic footage.

Investigation and arrests

Police opened a murder investigation and ultimately charged 13 men. One of the principal accused, Kamrul Islam, fled to Saudi Arabia after the killing and was later detained there before being returned to Bangladesh.

By August 2015, investigators had submitted a charge sheet in Sylhet. The case moved unusually quickly compared with many major criminal prosecutions in Bangladesh.

Trial verdict

On November 8, 2015, a Sylhet court convicted multiple defendants. Kamrul Islam, Zakir Hossain alias Pavel, Saddique Ahmed alias Boro Moyna and Taz Uddin alias Badal received death sentences for murder. Other defendants received prison terms of varying lengths, while three accused were acquitted.

The trial court also imposed a life sentence on Nur Ahmed, who had been convicted in connection with recording the attack. Several other defendants received seven-year or one-year terms.

High Court review

Bangladesh law requires High Court confirmation before a death sentence from a sessions court can be carried out. On April 11, 2017, the High Court upheld the four death sentences.

The High Court also maintained seven-year prison terms for three defendants and one-year terms for two others. It changed Nur Ahmed’s life sentence to six months. The judgment therefore altered part of the trial court’s sentencing structure while preserving the four murder death sentences.

Current status

The case is classified here as Partially Adjudicated. The High Court completed death-reference and appellate review in 2017 and upheld the four central murder convictions and death sentences. Bangladeshi defendants may seek further review in the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division. In the sources reviewed for this update through August 28, 2026, no later Appellate Division judgment resolving those four sentences was located, so this archive does not present the 2017 High Court judgment as the final possible level of appeal.